The Virtual Timepiece
by Lovely-Madness-13
Summary: Set in late nineteenth century England, a madman's daughter, an awkward gentleman, a shy foreigner, a scarred solider and a talented playboy find themselves tasked to save the world. Perhaps more than one world. This is AU, full of Steampunk references and lots of J/A and later on, U/Y. Hope you enjoy it, and thank you for reading. Some chapters are also now available in Spanish
1. Chapter 1

On the morning of the April 6th, 1869, a great man died.

It wasn't on the front page of the London Times, like so many other important deaths were. It wasn't even in the obituary, hidden in the back. No one remarked on it in society's highest the next day. No one in the dark oppressed alleyways of the factory workers muttered it.

Yet it occurred all the same.

One month later.

"It's funny, really, Miss."

"No, dear, the equation is backwards, see-"

"Miss?"

"The- what? Oh...yes?" Tired eyes blinked out of focus as their owner looked up at the speaker. Aelita Stones forced her mind away from mathematical sums to attempt to concentrate on what her friend was saying.

"It's strange. About death, I mean, Miss."

"Yumi, please, call me by my name. And..."Aelita glanced back at the student who she had been tutoring. "Work on that, Mr. Cope," she said, firmly, but not unkindly. "You've got the knack, so report to me tomorrow, please." The small boy looked up at her, and nodded, his eyes wide.

"Yes'm."

"Poor thing," Yumi Ishyama muttered as the student scampered off. Even though her English was perfect, Yumi's voice lilted heavily, accented from her native language. "He eats faster than half of the other children, yet still looks so small you could break him."

Aelita nodded, her pale pink hair falling in her face. Glaring at the rebellious curls, she huffed, and slammed the math book shut.

Yumi winced. "The answer from the headmaster was not a good one, I take it?" Despite her shyness, the young woman moved forward and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. Aelita sighed, and shook her head.

"It's the expected one-"

"Oh, but he can't!" Yumi took her hand back, frowning. Her dark almond-shaped eyes flashed with anger. "You've had this position for over ten years, he can't just-"

"He can, I'm afraid," Aelita replied. The insult and fury from being demoted from her position still smoldered in the back of her head, but she ignored it. The time to rage and grieve was over. "It's alright, Yumi." She forced a smile. "Things changed. Goodness knows my...my father changed positions often enough."

Yumi watched her, still frowning. "I may know little of your English ways of emotion still, Miss, but I can tell you're lying." She hesitated, then patted Aelita's shoulder again. "Your father was brave, and so are you. You'll find away." She smiled a little. "Perhaps this new teacher will be bad, and you will get your position back!"

"Yumi-chan!" Aelita scolded, but she smiled a little anyway. "Bite your tongue. The academy needs all the help it can get." She shivered slightly, and glanced at the window. It was May, yet still frost crept up the windows in the evening. She sighed, and shook her head.

"You should go home, Yumi. It's late."

"Are you going to stay and read again, Miss?"

Aelita nodded. "I must."

"In case you can match wits with the new teacher?" Yumi suggested, and smiled when Aelita rolled her eyes.

"I won't be matching anything," she retorted. "An old thing like me." Yumi laughed, shaking her head. "Oh, and Yumi?" The girl paused. "Thank you."

Yumi smiled, bowing slightly, then gathered her things and left.

It wasn't until Aelita heard the door close that she realized Yumi had never explained what she meant about death being strange.

The next day:

"It's rather strange, sir. If you'll excuse me."

"Excuse you for something you have yet to explain?"

"The school, sir. Kadic Academy."

Blond eyebrows shot up quizzically over blue framed glasses. "Pray do go on, Mr. Kingsley. What is strange about the school? Some rumor or scandal?"

The cockney man sitting across from him in the carriage ducked his head in apology. "No offense meant, sir, it was just a stray thought."

"Stray thoughts are nothing to apologize for." The blond man didn't smile, but somehow the air in the small space lightened slightly. "They bring genius when we're not looking."

Kingsley blinked, then nodded. "If you say so, sir. We're here," he added quickly when the blond man opened his mouth again.

"This is the Academy?" Glancing out the windows, the two men saw a huge structure of brick, massive spires extending high into the sun stained morning sky. "One of the first free public places of learning that accepts children of all situations." A small smile lit the blue eyes behind the glasses, and the man glanced at small gold watch hanging out of the breast pocket of his coat. The coachman's eyes widened when seeing the piece of clockwork.

"That's one of the new timepieces, sir? The ones that are meant to stay accurate without hourly winding?"

"What? Oh, yes, y-yes it is." The gentleman gave the watch one more glance, then put it quickly back into his pocket, then smiled at his companion. "I must thank you for leading me here."

Surprised by the thanks, Kingsley ducked his head, and actually blushed slightly, smiling. "Just doin' my job, sir. I'll get your bags."

Smiling now, the blond gentleman stepped out of the carriage, and into the bright sunlight. Students were already rushing up the steps to the large, ornately carved front doors of the school, muttering and yelling. The doors opened, banged shut, then opened again as more children large and small, well dressed or dressed in little more than patched shambles, hurried toward their classes.

The door creaked open again, the flash of light off the windows hitting the gentleman's glasses.

"Oh...bloody hell..."

Annoyed slightly, the gentleman winced, blinking quickly. Glancing back up, he saw a woman standing at the top of the steps, talking to one of the students. Frowning, he stopped shielding his eyes, squinting against the sunspots in his eyes. The woman moved, glanced in his direction. How strange, the color of her hair in the sunlight. How could anyone's hair be such a bright pink? Perhaps a trick of the light? He squinted, and it seemed the woman realized someone was watching her. She froze-

"Sir? Your bags."

Startled, the gentleman turned, and looked back to see Mr. Kingsley hold out the suitcases he had pulled off the top of the carriage.

"Oh, yes, thank you."

The gentleman looked back towards the door, but the woman had disappeared.


	2. Chapter 2

Walking into the huge Academy, one quickly realized the building was designed to impress. Huge domed archways curved far over head to meet between intricate paintings that spread over the ceiling. Large windows, both clear and stained glass, sparkled against the morning sunlight. The noise of the countless students as they settled into their classes echoed over the stone walls.

The blue-eyed gentleman had seen many impressive school, yet still his eyes widened behind his glasses.

"The office is this way, sir. The headmaster's been waiting' for you." The gentleman jumped, and turned to look at the speaker- a tiny girl with brown hair that curled practically to her waist in a heavily-patched dress that must've once been white. Despite the state of her clothing, the girl smiled shyly and curtsied.

"Miss Tamia, there you are!" A soft, exotic voice echoed down the hall way, and the gentleman looked up to see a tall young woman dressed in deep green coming toward them. Her raven black hair done in a simple bun on the top of her spoke of the same foreign heritage as her voice. Seeing the gentleman, the woman paused, then smiled.

"Hello, sir. May we help you?"

"Ah-"

"Tamia must've heard about there being a visitor. Are you looking for someone?"

"Yes." The gentleman smiled gently at both females. "The office?" He hesitated, then looked down at the little girl. "Would you like to accompany me, my lady?" he asked, smiling. Tamia giggled.

"Miss Ishyama and Miss Stones said we shouldn't go with strangers, sir."

"Your young friends must be wise, then." The little girl looked up at the tall woman, giggled again.

"Yumi! There you are, I was going to ask you-"

Another female voice echoed toward them, and the gentleman turned. His eyes widened and he almost dropped his bags.

A pink haired woman dressed in black strode toward them, one eyebrow already raised. "I thought you-" seeing the gentleman watching her, she fell silent. Then smiling slowly, she curtsied. "Forgive me, where are my manners? Welcome to Kadic Academy, sir, how may we help you?"

It had been no trick of the light, the gentleman realized numbly, stunned. Pink as the morning sky had been earlier, her hair curled down on either side of her face despite the small shimmering pins attempting to tame it.

"I...I..."

"We were going to help him to the office, mum," little Tamia told her brightly over the gentleman's stuttering. "He said he was going there. Then his face got all red when you came down the hallway. And now I'm not sure where-"

"Alright Tamia," interrupted the tall woman said, held back laughter quivering in her voice. "We should go back, and you need to finish your piece." She looked pointedly at the pink-haired woman, who looked back at her, then back to the gentleman.

"Pardon us for the interruption, Mr-"

"Belpois, Miss. Jeremie Belpois." The gentleman seemed to pull himself together, and swept a bow that had even the tall Yumi blushing slightly. "And it's been no interruption, but a pleasure."

"Belpois?" The pink-haired woman's eyebrows shot up, looking utterly unimpressed with his chivalry "As in Professor Belpois, the new teacher of science and mathematics?"

The gentleman nodded, somewhat surprised by her reaction. Had the staff not been aware of a change in teachers? "The very same, Miss. I was wondering, do you know the Professor who is currently in charge of the subjects? I'd like to confer with him on how to have the smoothest turn over." He smiled, but the stunned look on the woman's face slowly melted into a cool stare. "I understand the honor of teaching at a school such as this."

"Him?"

The two woman glanced at each other over Tamia's head, then the pink-haired woman nodded, her eyes narrowed slightly. "I will certain let the science teacher know, sir. Please follow me."

Mr. Belpois bowed once more toward Yumi and Tamia, then picked up his bags. When he looked up again, the other woman was already halfway down the hallway.

"Please- Miss-"

By the time he caught up with her, his breath was hissing out of his lungs painfully. How could someone who barely reached his shoulder walk so fast?

"You said you knew the science professor here, Miss?" A flash flickered in her green eyes as the woman looked at him. She nodded slightly before looking away, her eyes back the empty air ahead. Jeremie wondered vaguely what he had done to cause this woman to seemingly despite him in under five minutes. "Is he-"

Anything else he was about to say was cut off as a huge bell sounded, echoing through the corridors. Jeremie jumped, although the woman had no reaction.

"It's the timepiece of the school, Professor," she informed him, her voice as cool as her expression. Why did it sound as if she was using his new title like an insult? "It's more than a few minutes late, but it works all the same."

"Can't someone fix it, miss...?"

"No." The woman apparently ignored the gentle inquiry towards her name, and simply shook her head. Then she stopped dead in her tracks and guestered towards a door to their left. "That is the office, Sir. I trust you can find your way from there?" She turned, and looked at him. Any thought in his brain seemed to turn to sand.

"Well, I- uh-"

Just then the door to the office flew open, and a big man bustled out. Seeing them, he boomed a laugh, his arms opening as if to embrace them both.

"Professor! Finally. Good you two have met. Come in, come in! We will discuss everything!"

Confused, Jeremie followed the man in, the pink-haired woman coming in after him. Her expression had gone from cool to positively stony as she stared at the man.

"Headmaster Delmas, I hardly think I'm necessary in the proceedings-" She started, her voice polite as she tried to take a step back out of the room.

"Nonsense, Miss Stones. You and the Professor must discuss the transition of your subjects. You see, Professor, Miss Stones here has been our instructor for the mathematics and science classes for many years now."

"Over a decade, sir," the woman said quickly, shaking her head. "It's better for him to get a fresh start, sir."

Jeremie stared at her. This woman was the teacher? Blinking in surprise, he gasped mentally. No wonder she had been angry with him, he had assumed the teacher he was replacing was a man. And thus insulted her. Shame rushed to a blush on his face as he started to stammer an apology.

"M-miss St-tones, please, I-"

"Now, now Professor, time for introductions is later. I believe you two have much to discuss. Your things are being put up in the staff dormitory as we speak, of course." Delmas rolled from foot to foot, beaming at both of them like they were his children. He slapped Jeremie hard on the back, chuckling. "Come, Miss Stones, show him to the room, the class should not start in perhaps-" he glanced an ancient clock on the wall. Coughing at the blow to his back, Jeremie wiggled his glasses back into place, then peered at the clock.

"Oh, bloody goose, the clock has been a half-hour late for half a century," the headmaster muttered, shaking his head. "No clock-maker in the city can fix the thing."

"Or the bell tower timepiece, for that matter, apparently," Jeremie said, then winced when Miss Stones's eyes flashed again. Trying to make amends he smiled warmly at her despite the icy expression on her lovely face. "Professor Stones informed me so."

"Professor Stones?" The headman once again burst into laughter. "Ha! That's an interesting joke, there, Belpois. Off with you, I will see you eventually, sir."

"Yes, headmaster." JEremie bowed again, then started to follow Miss Stones back out of the door. He paused then glanced back at the clock. "Sir, would you allow me to take that with me? I will return it to you, of course."

Delmas blinked, glanced from the broken clock then back to the two teachers stand in the doorway. "Well, I suppose so. Do you dabble in clockworkery, Professor?"

"I do, sir." Jeremie smiled slightly. "In my own fashion."

"Good." After some slight muttering, Delmas unfixed the clock from the wall and handed it gingerly to Jeremie. "I'll be interested to see what you do with it, sir!"

"Thank you, head master." Bowing once more, Jeremie left the room.

Glancing about, he once again saw the pink-haired woman striding ahead of him.

"Professor Stones!"

The woman slowed, then stopped. "The headmaster told you not to call me that." Her voice was cool again, calm. Slightly musical.

Musical? What a foolish thing to say. Jeremie shook the thought out of his head.

"No, Miss, he said it was a joke. But I do not find it amusing." Finally, the woman turned. One pink eyebrows raised.

"You do not, sir?" Despite her anger, a small wry smile curved her lips. "What a strange thing for a man to say."

Jeremie shook his head, coming toward her slowly. Despite the obvious strength in emotion she showed, it seemed as if he approached too quickly, she'd back off, like a frightened deer. Her eyes were certainly as wide as such an animal.

"Perhaps I am rather strange, Miss," he replied, smiling. "After all, I hear that strangeness in itself fits this place."

The woman took a step back, the smile vanishing from her face. "That's nonsense. This is just a school, like any other, sir. Strange is-" She paused, an odd hidden look moving into her eyes.

Taking advantage of her stillness, Jeremie took another step forward. "Please, Miss Stones, at least allow me to apologize for the insult I scored you earlier. It was foolish of me to assume such a thing."

The woman blinked in surprise, and the haunted look left her gaze. "You are not the first to assume such, sir. It is a male dominated field, the one of science and mathematics." She hesitated, then sighed slightly. "And since it seems we will be working together, please call me Aelita. It is my given name, and far easier to remember."

A strange name, as strange and lovely as she was. Jeremie ignored the thought, but smiled.

"Then please, call me Jeremie. As we are going to be working together." Instead of bowing, he held his hand out to her. Aelita stared at him, and he smiled. "We are colleges, Miss A-Aelita." Cursing the awkwardness of his stutter, the blush that once again heated his cheeks when she met his gaze, he stubbornly waited to see how she'd react. Aelita hesitated when that hidden look came back into her eyes again. After a second, it vanished. For a moment, a true smile winked out, and Jeremie felt the breath in his lungs shutter slightly.

"Yes, we are, Mr. Jeremie," she replied, and gingerly shook his hand with her own.

A shock tingled over his fingers, up his arm, and Jeremie jerked slightly, his eyes wide. What on earth?

Aelita moved back, her grip weakening. Without thinking, Jeremie took her hand again and brought it to his lips.

"Will you accept my apology, Miss Aelita?"

Aelita stared at him, her green eyes wide with shock. After a second, those eyes narrowed, and she quickly tugged her hand from his.

"I said you weren't the first man to assume that women could not teach mathematics and science, sir." If she had felt the shock when they had touched, she didn't show it. "But, you are the first to apologize."

With that, she strode down the hall, and left Jeremie standing there, his hand still out stretched.


	3. Chapter 3

"And he apologized?"

At the question, Aelita sighed, and rubbed her forehead. Not of the first time that morning, she could feel a headache coming on. Yumi, watching her, raised her eyebrows. Tireless as she was, Aelita rarely acted this frustrated. After a second, when Aelita didn't answer, Yumi glanced around at the large schoolroom they shared. How long had it been since she, a foreigner in a new land so different from her home, found acceptance here when she had found it nowhere else? She sighed, and went to her friend.

"Look, Miss Aelita. Music class is to start soon, you should take a break."

"He's a clock maker," Aelita said suddenly, her eyes finally rise to meet Yumi's. For a moment, a wry sneer flickered across her face. Jealous was an unusual emotion for her, and it settled unpleasantly in her stomach. "Delmas let him try to fix the office clock."

Yumi raised an eyebrow. "The one you already know the problem of?" She gave an unladylike snort, then saw the look on Aelita's face. "Come now, Miss, don't you start thinking that this fellow is superior to you. Although, if he apologized..." She shook her head. "That is rather strange, isn't it?"

Aelita huffed, and broke away. "That's what I said!" She threw up her hands in frustration. "He just think he can wander in here, take over this class, try to charm everyone in ten feet of him-"

"Did you find him charming, Miss?"

Aelita blinked. "What?" She unconsciously rubbed the knuckles on her left hand, then noticed the small, sly smile on Yumi's face. "What?! What does it matter?"

Yumi shrugged, and began to set up for the music class she was about to teach. "If you two are going to be working together-"

"Piffle," Aelita retorted, trying to ignore the blush now creeping up into her cheeks. "He wasn't charming, anyway. Just strange and arrogant, then polite and..." she shrugged. "Awkward." Remembering the utterly apologetic look on Belpois face as he practically chased after her, Aelita bit her lip, trying to ignore her own guilt. He had been stuttering, and red as a beet, hadn't he? Even when he had kissed her hand. Not realizing that her expression had gone slightly dreamy, Aelita shook her head. "He-"

"Um...p-pardon the intrusion, ladies, I- um..."

Both women whirled around to stare at the intruder lingering the doorway.

He was blushing again, Aelita noticed as Professor Belpois smiled nervously at them both. Had she noticed before that his eyes were blue? Such an odd color, as if it couldn't decide whether it was sky aqua or midnight cobalt. It seemed to instead shift between the two.

When Aelita didn't move, Yumi came forward, smiling warmly. "Of course, sir, you're not intruding, please come in." She curtsied slightly. "I believe we haven't been formally introduced, sir. I believe you are the new Professor here, Jeremie Belpois?" She smiled again, glancing at Aelita, who was now frowning slightly. "You've already met Professor-" she used the title pointedly, making Aelita shoot a glare her way- "Stones, yes?" When the young man just nodded and stuttered, her smiled widened. "I am Yumi Ishyama, sir, and please to meet you."

"I...I uh..."Finally Jeremie was able to untangle his tongue, forcing his gaze from the blushing, furious Miss Stones to Miss Ishyama. He forced a smile, and bowed slightly. "I apologize for not introducing myself properly, earlier, Miss. Are you a teacher here as well?"

Yumi nodded. "Yes." She guestered to the instruments she had lined against the wall. "I am the music and art teacher here at Kadic, with help from Miss Stones, and occasionally Mr Del-"

"He doesn't need to mentioned in this conversion," Aelita muttered, composing her confusion and frustration behind a cool smile. When Yumi rolled her eyes slightly, Aelita addressed Belpois, her expression haughty. "Are you surprised, to see women teaching in such a..." she paused, then used the young man's words from earlier, 'a noble school' such as this?" Ignoring the scolding glance Yumi sent her, Aelita watched the Professor, who raised an eyebrow at her.

"Hardly, Miss." He bowed to her, then met her gaze solidly. "I don't make mistakes twice." The sudden strength in his eyes behind the wire frames, the wry smile on his lips, almost knocked Aelita back a mental step. Where had the awkward gentleman gone? 'One to match wits with' Yumi had said earlier. Perhaps she had been right.

Relenting slightly, she took a step forward. "Well, Pro-"

Just then, the school bell boomed out, making all three of them jump. When the echos ended, both women sighed at looked each other.

"There's never enough time," Jeremie said softly, pulling out his own pocket watch. When he looked up again, he found himself under a very shocked stare from vivid green eyes. Blinking, he quickly put the watch away. "Well...um..."

"Miss Ishyama's class is about to begin," Aelita said quickly, trying to shake the sudden fear that had settled over her heart at the man's words. "We should go, and discuss how you should best transition into this school." She glanced back at Yumi just as the sound of footsteps and opening doors echoed towards them. "The children are coming, so we should best be out of their way."

"Good luck," Yumi mouthed at Aelita when Belpois turned away. Aelita nodded, trying to smile, then turned and hurried out the door herself.

"You see, sir, we are just beginning to go through the basics of algebra with the elder children." All business, Miss Stones bustled around the tiny office she had shown to Jeremie. It was stark, with little decoration. The only thing on the desk was a small black box, and what looked like a photograph, covered with a black cloth. Was she in mourning? Jeremie blinked, and looked at the small, busy woman rummaging in a drawer. That strange, bright pink hair fell in curls, partly hiding her face. Even surrounded by such a plain space, dressed in the modest black dress, energy seemed to shine from her like a light. How didn't he notice it before?

"Professor Belpois!"

Jeremie blinked, and realized she was now holding a huge stack of papers out to him. Blushing, he bowed his head and quickly took the burden from her hands. Glancing at the top paper, his eyebrows went up.

"Didn't you say beginning algebra, Miss?" He stared at the complex figures on what he realized was a recent exam.

"It's Aelita, Professor," she replied calmly, and shut the drawer. "And yes, we- watch out!"

Jeremie, not realizing he was getting to close the desk, smacked right into it, rapping his hip hard off the corner. Cursing, he jumped back just as the black box fell to the floor.

"I- I- I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me, I-"

Aelita ignored him, and hurried to to pick up the box. "It is nothing, simply an accident," she muttered, but Jeremie crouched and started helping her pick up the mess anyway.

His eyes went wide when he recognized what the box had been holding.

"These are clockworkery tools," he muttered, holding up a wrench scared with the look of often use. Glancing at the tiny metals and gears now littering the floor, he looked up quickly, and found himself inches from Miss Stones, who had looked up at the same time.

"I-"

Anything he had been about to say was whipped clean when neither of them moved. It was Aelita who blinked first, took the first breath, and moved back.

"Yes, you were correct," she told him, standing quickly and turning away, the cracked tool box in hand. Calm down, she told herself, confusion racing along with her suddenly speeding heart beat. "It's...a hobby of mine. Clockworkery. I noticed you were intrigued by it as well."

She turned, her expression under control. She couldn't say the same for her emotions, but she ignored those. Or tried to. Belpois- Jeremie- she reminded herself firmly- was staring at her with a expression that, in a lesser gentleman, would have been jaw-dropping shock. Instead he just watched her, those strange blue eyes of his open wide.

After a minute, he seemed to recover, and took a step towards her, the shock in his eyes turn into something else. Then to her surprise, he turned, and pushed the gapping door to the room shut.

Now Aelita took a step back, her eyes narrowing. Alone with a stranger, she thought, fear shooting up her spine.

"Pardon my forwardness, Miss Stones," Belpois said, his voice gentle. "You...you may think I'm quite mad. But I..."

He was fidgeting nervously now, Aelita noted, frowning. The fear didn't fade, but confusion began to mix in.

"Madness is something believed to be common here, Professor," she told him, managing a wry tone. "What on earth could-"

His next question, cutting her off, sent shock spiraling down, a cold spire in her heart.

"Miss Aelita, have you ever heard of the Virtual Timepiece?"


	4. Chapter 4

"T-the Virtual Timep-piece?"

Anything she had expected him to ask, it obviously hadn't been that, Jeremie realized instantly, watching her. Aelita's face had gone chalk white in a matter of seconds. Wondering at her strong reaction, he took a step back.

"It...it's just a legend," she replied after a second, her voice calm despite the look of abject terror in her eyes. "Yes, I've heard of it. Why?"

How does he know?! Why now?!

Panic was an acidic bile in the back of her throat as Aelita tried to reign in her whirling thoughts. It was impossible.

"Well..." Jeremie shifted from foot to foot, as if nervous. Guilty? Green eyes narrowed, the terror in them turning into wariness. "I've read articles on it in the past, and many of them mentioned this area of London being the starting place of the rumors." He shrugged, and shook his head. "P-pardon me for bringing it, Miss, it was just a whim."

Liar.

He knew something, Aelita realized, the panic threatening to come back up again. It...how impossible was it...yet it was obvious. He knew something. But no...

She had to get home. She had to find them. She had to know.

"I'll be going now, Professor," she said quickly, and hurried around him. "We'll discuss t-the classes tomorrow, perhaps?" Without waiting for an answer, she practically ran out the door, leaving Jeremie standing there in her wake.

A legend, a myth.

Work of a madman.

"It's impossible."

Not for the first time that day, Aelita buried her face in her hands. "It's bloody impossible. No one could know. Those articles...Bah! I'm such an idiot."

"Well, it might be a bit of a stretch to call yourself an idiot, dear cousin. But who am I to complain?"

Aelita jerked back, and glared at the speaker leaning against the doorway to her room. "Not now, Oddric, please."

The svelte blond man smiled crookedly at her and moved forward to sit himself backwards in a chair. His purple-grey eyes followed Aelita as she resumed pacing. "You're just like Uncle Frank, you know, Princess? Don't know how you find room to do that in here," he added, gesturing around at the tiny apartment his cousin occupied. "You'll go mad, just like everyone else said he did." Despite his jovial tone, the young man's eyes flashed slightly.

"You don't think he's a madman, though, Odd," Aelita retorted, knowing the look in his eyes. "Don't joke about Father, please."

Ignoring the scolding, Oddric smiled and stretched out his legs. "So...what's the new Professor like?" When Aelita blinked, then glared at him, he grinned. "Nothing is sacred, little cousin. Not in this city."

"We're not going on that subject right now." Aelita shook her head, trying to ignore the blush creeping up in her cheeks. "And how is it, pray, that you know everything that blasted school when the only time you step a toe in there is when poor Yumi needs your help?"

Odd gave her a mocking bow over the edge of the chair. "Always ready to help a lovely lady in need," he replied, making Aelita roll her eyes. When she didn't reply, Odd's expression grew serious. "He knows something about Uncle's articles, doesn't he?" He reached out and lightly tugged a pink curl when she froze in front of him. "Only that madman's contraption could send you in this much of a fuss, there, Princess," he told her, ignoring the glare she gave him when she jerked out of his reach.

"You don't even know what it is," she snapped, at her temper's end. "And it doesn't matter. Anyone interested in clockworkery may have heard of the timepiece. Anyone-"

"could have approached you about it," Odd finished for her, nodded. "But he's the first one, this Professor of yours."

Aelita flushed and glared. "He's not my professor, you blockhead. He's just..." her anger faded slightly, and she shook her head. "Strange."

"Do you think he could be one the people your father talked about?"

Glancing at her cousin, Aelita sighed. Odd only talked about this subject seriously when he was trying to comfort her. It'd be no good to yell at him. "I...I don't know, Oddric." She sank into a chair, and rubbed her face again. "It's just so unexpected. And with the rumors of a countdown lately..." she shook her head. "Although those are just rumors."

"Those aren't the only rumors floating around, you know, little cousin."

Aelita just raised a pink eyebrow at him, and Odd smirked.

"I've gotten news through Will, you know, the-"

"On with it, please," Aelita muttered, knowing that if she let him continue, Odd would mention ever single one of one of his gossiping 'friends' before he got to the point.

Odd gave a long-suffering sigh. "I got word that the troops are coming in from the Orient."

Aelita sat up straight, her eyes wide. "The ones Father was interested in?"

Odd nodded, a small smirk on his thin mouth. "Miss Yumi might be interested as well." Aelita raised her eyebrows at him, then shook her head, smiling slightly.

"If you even suggested that she'd like one of those rubber headed, weapon-happy fools," she told him as he grinned, "you'd be on your bottom with bruises faster than you can say your name backwards." Odd snorted, standing slowly.

"You ladies are all alike. Sweet and aloof and then boom! like wicked cats." He made a claw out of his hand and let out a poor excuse for a cat's hiss. Aelita sniggered, her mood finally lightening slowly.

"Cat my foot," she retorted, then turned back to the articles she had dug out. "And don't you worry about the professor." Odd looked back at her, his eyebrows raised. There was a gleam in his cousin's green eyes that he knew all too well, and he smiled slowly as she continued quietly: "He's my problem."

"And you're his," Odd retorted, and walked out cackling, before she could reply.

"Piffle," Aelita muttered, ignore the blush that had come from Odd's remark. "I'm not his anything."

Down on the street. another male voice cackled softly, the sound a tiny whisper under the sounds of the city. "You, my dear, maybe my everything." The chuckle turned into a wheezing laugh, and the figure walked away, pushing a tiny pocket watch back into his coat pocket.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, Aelita was late for class.

By the time she got there, the late bell had already boomed, and the children were assembled in their seats.

Well, mostly assembled.

"Excuse me! Yes, you..." Annoyed, Aelita strode in, her eyes latching onto troublemakers instantly. "Mr. Take and Mr. Bucks, please sit down. Sit down, I say!" Muttering as the over-excited children finally obeyed, she barely restrained herself from slamming her books into the top of the make-shift teaching desk. When she turned back around, she saw the students not only had calmed down, but were now staring at her as if she had horns.

Now what? Aelita tried not to glower at them. "What are you all googling at?"

"Ah...Miss..." One of the students nervously glanced at his fellows, then nodded to the back corner. "We...um..." Raising an eyebrow, she glanced back to where the boy had nodded.

"You have no clocks in your classroom, Professor Stones."

Jeremie Belpois sat in a tiny chair, eyeing the room curiously. There was a note pad and quill pen in his hand. Aelita's eyes widened and her jaw threatened to drop, stuck between surprise and fury.

"W-what-" As Jeremie finally turned his blue eyes to her, his glasses tipped low over his nose, Aelita's spine straightened. "Professor Belpois." The calm tone of her voice echoed softly around the classroom, and the children went dead silent. "Would you please follow me for a moment?"

Looking perplexed, Jeremie nodded, and stood.

"Children, begin studying for your exams," Aelita ordered quietly, not glancing back at the class. No one moved. "We will only be a moment."

The door closed quietly behind them.

"What, Professor, do you think you're doing?!"

Aelita spun, facing Jeremie head on. The young man actually took a step back, obviously surprised by her sudden anger.

"Wh-hat-"

Her small hands bunched for a moment into fists. "Coming into my classroom without even informing me! This may be your classroom come the new semester, sir, but until then I am still teacher here, professor or not!" He had mentioned clocks again, hissed a little voice in her ear. Remember? This was the fellow who asked you about the timepiece! He could be snooping! Aelita's panic and anger went up a notch at the thought and she opened her mouth to continue her tirade.

Jeremie stared at her. "D-didn't you get the note?" When she stared at him, he frowned. "I had it sent to your office, right after you left."

Shame started to trickle as the anger dissipated. "I've never gotten notes in my office," she replied, still frowning. "Only a few teachers get them." Only the male teachers, they both thought, but neither said anything. "If there was a plan to watch my classes, I wish you would've told me when we were there yesterday!"

"I didn't wish to do so!" Now Jeremie's temper started to boil, and Aelita had the slightly mesmerizing experience of watching his eyes literally turn from deep navy to a bright neon blue, vivid on his pale, boyishly handsome face. "If you hadn't run away so quickly, then-"

He stopped, then shook his head. "Please, we'll get nowhere arguing." He hesitated, then held out a hand to her. "Please, Professor. Equals, remember? I'm sorry I intruded."

She sighed, staring at the hand he offered to her.

"I'm being a fool." After a second, she reached out and took his hand.

A shock through her fingertips and up her arm, making her gasp and and almost pull away. Looking up at him, she saw that his eyes seemed to have widened behind his glasses, although they were still that vivid bright blue.

"S-sorry..." the shock from a simple touch had sent her mind spinning, and she had to struggle to get her thoughts straight. Why had she been so angry? And why was she standing in a hallway holding hands with a man who was practically a stranger? Aelita gasped again, and quickly yanked her hand back.

"I should get back to my class," she said quickly, having the sudden urge to hide before she made even more of an idiot out of herself. When he nodded and smiled politely, she hesitated, then smiled back. "Y...you're welcome to come in. The children won't bother you, and you'll see what we've been working on."

Jeremie's eyes widened, and then a true smile beamed onto his face. Despite everything, Aelita couldn't help but smile back, and together they went back into the classroom.

Jeremie ended up staying until the last of Aelita's classes trickled out. He had been amazed, he realized as he watched her collect papers as the last class left. She was quick to humor with the children, even those that tested her patience. She had respect for them, that was obvious. Jeremie had seem many a teacher see their children as little more than whipping posts with mouths. He shuddered at the idea.

"You're an incredible woman, Miss Aelita."

Aelita looked up, blinking. "Excuse me?"

Where on earth had that come from? Mortified, Jeremie felt his face turn red, and stammered. "I..um, well...it's just..." Giving up, he shook his head. "The...you do well," he finished lamely. Despite this, Aelita smiled gently at him. Another tremor went down his spine at the bright expression on her face, but it was for an entirely different emotion.

Stop it, you idiot, he told himself firmly. Don't even think about it.

"Please, l-let me help you with something." Desperate to get his mind on something other than that strange skipped beat in his heart everytime he looked at her, he hurried forward. Despite now having five tomes in her arms, the pink-haired woman walked calmly over to a shelf, the precariously stacked pile not wavering once.

You, Jeremie, have some shoes to fill, muttered a voice in the back of the head.

"What are you nodding about?" Jeremie blinked, and blushed, realizing he had been agreeing with his own thoughts. A small smile played Aelita's face as she finally gathered up the last of her papers.

"N-nothing," he stammered quickly, shaking his head. "Just admiring the...I mean, you...oh, bugger." Furious at his tied tongue, he smacked himself on the forehead. He heard a soft giggle and looked up at her. Her face was straight, but her eyes danced. Jeremie blushed again, but couldn't keep the sheepish smile from his face.

"I'm sorry, I am an idiot," he started, coming toward her. "I-"

"Oh, piffle!"

Not paying attention to what she was doing, Aelita almost ran headlong into one of the desks. Jumping back to catch her balance, all the papers she had been holding fluttered to the ground.

Jeremie instantly hurried to help her, and Aelita blushed. "Thank you, sir." After a second, she grinned at him from across the pool of papers. "I seem to be constantly dropping things around you, Professor."

Jeremie grinned. "And I seem to be unable to speak a coherent sentence around you," he retorted, then blushed at the confession. To avoid meeting her gaze, he busied himself with the papers at his feet. Aelita just giggled again, shaking her head.

"You know, you-"

"Miss Stones!"

The door to her room slammed open, and Yumi came rushing in, dark eyes wide, her normally pin-perfect hair half hanging in her face.

"Yumi, what on earth-"

"Your office, Aelita! Someone's been in it! It's been turned upside down!"

Aelita was on her feet in seconds, and racing towards the door, Jeremie and the pile of papers on the floor forgotten.

"How do you know?"

"The door's thrown open wide!" Yumi informed her as they hurried along. "I just went by there a second ago, and it it was cracked open, so I thought I'd close it! But I looked inside, Miss, and-" she shook her head. "It looks like a demon struck it!"

By the time they had gotten there, a small crowd of students and staff had gathered at the door.

"Excuse me! Please, that's my- please let me through-"

"Let the lady through!"

A sharp voice cut through the crowd, and everyone, including Aelita and Yumi, turned to stare. Jeremie was standing behind them, frowning slightly. The light glanced off his glasses, making his eyes invisible. A strange feeling prickled down the back of her spine.

"Thank you, Professor." She inclined her head regally, trying to ignore the fact that everyone, including Yumi, was staring at them. Turning back around, she marched forward, and flung open the door to her office.

The sound from the gawkers outside all faded away as utter shock took hold of her system

Papers were flung everywhere. Her desk itself was on it's side, the drawers pulled out.

On the back wall, written in black, was a message. The paint dripped down slowly, the smell from it making her gag.

The Countdown Has Begun.

"No!" Aelita bit back a yelp, staggering back a step. No. She tried to breathe. How could this happen?

Suddenly, a soft growl came from behind her. Aelita spun- -

-and fell back as a huge silver wolf leaped at her from behind the door, snarling.

Aelita screamed,a blue blur flashed in front of her then pain bloomed in the back of her head, and everything went black.


	6. Chapter 6

"Who on earth could've done this?!"

Yumi's soft demand echoed in the silent faculty room, voicing a question flickering through the minds of the other's present. She was standing against the wall, her back straight, her dark eyes angry. Others, including Jeremie and Headmaster Delmas nodded.

"I can't imagine someone like Miss Stones having enemies," someone muttered. Jeremie couldn't see who the speaker was, but he shook his head.

"Anyone can have enemies," he said, and looked from Delmas to Yumi. "Perhaps a teacher who covets her position?"

Yumi raised her eyes to look him in the face. "Professor Belpois, you would be technically that category."

Jeremie flushed and frowned. "Yes, but-"

Delmas interrupted him, frowning at Yumi as if she was an outspoken child. "I say, Miss Ishyama, that's a high accusation! We shouldn't say such things! He is new here-"

"And could be as guilty as anyone else, sir," Jeremie interjected, nodding. "Please, thank you for the defense, but Miss Ishyama's concerns make perfect sense." When the headmaster just stared at him, Jeremie smiled wryly, and stood. "If you don't mind, I'd like to check on Miss Stones."

"I'll go with you," Yumi said quickly. "I don't believe, sir, that you know where the infirmary is yet."

Jeremie blinked, then nodded.

The hall was strangely quiet. Jeremie could've sworn he heard the ticking of the massive school clock itself, beating softly along with his heart beat. In the back of his head, he could still clearly see the expression on Aelita's face when she had been attacked. The pure fear there shot a spark of anger up his spine that surprised him.

"I should apologize."

Yumi's voice was so quiet, he barely heard it. Jerking back slightly, he forced a polite smile on his face and looked at her. "What, Miss?"

Yumi smiled wryly, not meeting his eyes. "Your defense makes sense, sir, but it was wrong of me to accuse you. You saved her, after all."

A blush crept up the back of his neck. "I...please, Miss Ishyama, I did not such thing-"

"You protected her from that-" Yumi paused, then shook her head. "What ever it was."

Jeremie smiled sadly. "Despite her fear, Miss Aelita was actually quite safe. From the automaton, anyway."

Yumi blinked at him. "The what, sir?"

Jeremie shook his head. "If we have time, once Miss Aelita awakes, I'll explain it to you. I think she will also wish to be there for the explanation."

Yumi frowned slightly, then nodded. "The infirmary is just this way."

For a few moments they walked in silence, the only sounds the far off shouts and laughter of children. Snippets of words floated towards them.

"Let me go, you bloody idiot, I'm-"

Jeremie's eyes widened. That was no child. "What the-" Yumi made a coughing sound, like she was trying to hide a laugh, and Jeremie stared at her. "Did you here that? It sounds-"

"-like she's awake," Yumi finished for him, nodding. She picked up the pace as the angry voice got louder, and suddenly turned sharply towards a closed doorway. From inside, Jeremie could hear more voices, mostly male, but with one female voice ringing over them.

"I told you, let me go! I am fine, I have classes-"

The door opened, and a different voice, loud, young and male, blasted out. "Yumi! Thank goodness. Princess'll listen to you." Jeremie, coming in behind her, got a glimpse of blond hair and a flamboyant purple coat before the speaker disappeared back into the room.

Chaos seemed to reign, the center of it being the struggling woman half sitting on a bunk bed, her face as pink as her hair.

"Let her go, please." It was less like a request, more like a command, and the four men- all dressed in teachers' robes- let go, nodding and smiling at Yumi.

"Wait, Yumi, who's this?"

The speaker who welcomed Yumi into the room sauntered forward and planted himself firmly in front of Jeremie. "Who are you, sir, and what are you doing in Miss Stone's room?"

Jeremie raised an eyebrow. The fellow in front of him was almost a head shorter than he was, dressed from head to toe in various shades of purple.

"And you are?"

The dancing purple eyes narrowed slightly. "Her current protector. You?"

"Oddric Lionel Della-Robera, people need to protected from you, not the other way around." Released from being held down, Aelita sat up straight, her eyes wide and bright. Her gaze flickered from the purple-clad man to meet Jeremie squarely in the eyes. A jolt flashed down his spine, and he took a small step back. The look in her vivid green eyes both warned him back and seemed to pull him closer. He shook himself mentally, trying to get the sensation of being pushed and pulled out of his head.

"Funny, you hit your head hard enough, Princess, but your mouth keeps going," the blond and purple man retorted back at Aelita, who made a face at him.

"Children, children, behave yourselves," Yumi teased as she went to Aelita's side. She glanced at the men who were still hovering around Aelita and raised her eyebrows. Apparently taking her expression as a clear sign, the teachers filed out, closing the door behind them.

The four left all glanced at each other, none of them sure what to say. Finally, Aelita sighed, and nodded to Jeremie.

"I believe I should thank you, Professor Belpois," she said, smiling wryly. "You were the blue blur."

Jeremie blinked at her. "Pardon?"

"The blue blur." Her smile grew, and once again Jeremie felt that warm jolt down his spine. "Before I hit my head, you jumped in front of me, as if to stop that- that thing." Her smile wavered, and the fear returned in her eyes.

"Princess." The man Aelita called Odd went to her side, glancing once at Jeremie. "You really should rest, you-"

Aelita shook her head, playfully smacking him on the shoulder. "And you really should stop trying to nursemaid me, cousin. I'm fine. Besides. Where's the thing that attacked me? I'd like to get a better look at it."

"Absolutely not, you-" The denial Yumi and Odd both started up died when Aelita ignored them, and pushed herself slowly out of the chair. Without thinking, Jeremie went to her side, catching her elbow just as she wobbled.

"A-are you sure you're ready, Miss Aelita?" For a moment, Jeremie wondered how he could speak, let alone breathe being so close to her.

"Yumi, who is that bloody g-"

Glancing at Aelita, her face only a few inches from his, Jeremie quickly, but gently let her go, and fixed his gaze on Oddric. The purple-clad man smiled slightly, his hands stuffed in his pockets. There was something feline about that smile, Jeremie realized. Like a cat amused by it's prey.

Prey my arse. Jeremie smiled, and bowed slightly. "Jeremie Belpois, at your service. And you are?"

Odd raised his eyebrows. "Belpois? Well, this is interesting." He cocked his head to one side. "The one taking over her position come next year?"

"Odd, don't start, please-"

Ignoring Aelita's protest, Odd continued. "You do realize that she's been in this school, both learning and teaching, for a decade? What do you have to take over for her? Can you-"

"Curse it, Odd, stop it!" Aelita glared at her cousin, and start walking as quickly as she could without stumbling over to him.

Jeremie just shook his head, and smiled. "Your cousin, sir, is a better teacher and a brighter mind anyone else I have had the fortune to meet. You need no worries about my respect for her. I am hoping we can work together." His eyes narrowed slightly. "To protect her, if need be."

"Piffle." The subject of their conversion glared between them. "You two, please stop these dramatics." Annoyance hid the blush of flattery in her cheeks, and she made herself ignore the gentle flutter in her heart that had appeared at Jeremie's words. She was being foolish, she told herself. It was just empty words.

Would he speak empty words? muttered a little voice in her head. He doesn't seem to be the kind.

"Professor Belpois, didn't you say something about explaining what that thing was that attacked her?" Yumi stepped closer to Aelita, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Since she's obviously not going to rest anymore," she added pointedly, and Aelita just smiled triumphantly at her friend.

Jeremie nodded, then bowed to both of them. "I believe they haven't moved it, yet." He smiled wryly. "No one probably wants to touch it." Without thinking, he quickly offered her his arm to lean on.

"Probably not," Aelita agreed, nodding. She seemed to hesitate for a second, then her face slightly pinker than moments before, she took his arm and let him lead her out of the room. Odd and Yumi looked at each other, one looking exasperated, the other, torn between mistrust and amusement.

Odd shook his head, watching his cousin go out the door. "This may become interesting."


	7. Chapter 7

By the time the four of them got there, Aelita's office was practically spotless.

"Cleaning faeries," Aelita muttered. "So they do exist." A strangled laugh emitted from Jeremie, but when she looked at him, his face was perfectly straight. "Thank you for..." she glanced down where her arm still rested on his. Warmth radiated slowly from him, yet a strange tingle continually danced down her spine as she stayed so close to him. "For everything, sir."

Jeremie smiled and nodded his head. "Your well being is my thanks, Miss."

Behind them, Odd made a rude noise. "May we get on with this, please?" Aelita turned to make a face at him, and saw, too her surprise, that he was frowning. Unusually serious, Aelita realized. She shook her head at him and turned back around again. He had no reason to worry. She could take care of herself.

"So, sir," Yumi said softly as she moved into the room with the rest. "Where's this..." she hesitated, then shook her head. "The contraption you mentioned."

Jeremie blinked at her, then gasped a little and nodded. "Yes. Thank you, Miss Ishyama. The automaton."

Aelita's eyes went wide and she stared him. "Where is there an automaton? What-"

Jeremie kicked the door shut-

and reveled the silver wolf from before, tensed and ready to spring. Automatically, Aelita gasped and flinched. Then her eyes went wide.

"It IS an automaton!" She turned red with embarrassment, shaking her head. "It's amazing!"

"Did you just try running from it less than two hours ago?" Odd reminded her, send a glare at Jeremie. "What if-"

"The mechanism is only for one attack."

Aelita looked up at Jeremie, understanding his statement. "It needs to be rewound-"

"Like a clock," all four of them muttered in unison. Yumi laughed first, shaking her head.

"if it's a clock, then, how-" She took a step forward, eyeing the thing. "That's not real fur, is it? And what exactly is an atam...automan..."

"Autamwhatisit," Odd supplied, nodding sagely.

"Automaton," Jeremie and Aelita stated together.

"It's like a cross between a clock-" Aelita started.

"A music box and-" Jeremie added.

"Sort of like a toy," Aelita finished. Jeremie laughed softly, and Aelita smiled at him. Neither of them noticed the amused glance between Odd and Yumi.

"It's a dangerous toy," Yumi muttered, moving closer to it. The wolf was still as stone, the silver fur shimmering slightly in the light. Red glass served as eyes, and the jaw was open, white teeth sharpened to vicious points. Yumi shuddered. "It certainly looks real enough. How can you tell what it is?"

"Before we met in the teachers area," Jeremie told her, holding up a finger as if making a point in a lecture hall. "I was able to get a quick look at it. There's a pin, here." He pointed to the top of the wolf's head, and the other's leaned closer. There was a tiny silver mark, like small silver screw, embedded in the fur. "It's all the way down, which means it had been wound up right tight. All it needed was movement for the sensitive trigger in the body to start the-"

"You know so much, Professor," Odd said, cross his arms over his chest. "How do we know you didn't create it and put it there?"

"Odd!" Aelita glared at him, and Yumi raised her eyebrows. "You idiot, would you stop accusing people left and right with out basis? It's rude and-"

Jeremie raised his hands, as if trying admit surrender. "You have no reason to believe me or not, Mr. Della-Robera. I don't blame you. But I had been in Aelita's class the whole time, and before that, I had been speaking with the headmaster." He glanced at Aelita. "Ask your cousin for conformation, if you wish."

Odd looked over at Aelita, who was fuming, her vivid green gaze darting back and forth between the two men. "You're both idiots," she muttered, shaking her head. Then she perked up, looking over at Jeremie again. "But can you build automatons, sir?"

Jeremie smiled at her, and shook his head. "N-no, miss." Mentally, he cursed his nervousness. Why did his tongue always have to trip over itself when she turned that curious smile on him? He fiddled with his glasses, hiding the blush that was trying to creep up his face. "That is a skill of clockworkery that is far to advanced for me. I've tried." He made a face. "With disasters results."

"Did you set it on someone?" Odd asked sourly, his arms still crossed.

Jeremie just smiled wryly. "No. It exploded." He shook his head. "That's irrelevant. Miss Aelita, do you know who would send such a thing to you and try to destroy your office?"

Aelita's face had gone slightly pale, and she didn't answer for a moment. Yumi moved toward her, patting her shoulder gently. Seeing the fear still prevalent on her face, Jeremie winced mentally. "I am sorry, it's an ugly subject still, you-"

"I don't know exactly," she said after a moment, her voice quiet and calm. Her pink hair hung down, hiding her expression from view. "I cannot think of anyone who'd have the means to create and do something so elaborate, but..." she shrugged.

"And the writing on the wall?"

"' The countdown has begun'," Aelita quoted, and a small shiver ran over her. Knowing that she was being watched, she forced her emotions, the panic, the confusion, the fear, under control. "I do not know what it means," she told him, still not meeting his gaze. Somehow she knew if she did, he would know she was lying.

"Was there anything missing from your office?"

This time her eyes narrowed slightly, and she looked him straight in the face. "Articles. On the Virtual Timepiece." '

Odd and Yumi both stared at her. Odd's jaw had dropped slightly, but Yumi just gapped at her friend. After so long, why would she bring it up, now that-

Aelita ignored both of them. Instead, she watched Jeremie's face intently.

Jeremie's eyes simply widened behind his glasses. "You have articles? Who were they written by?"

"Her f-"Odd started, then yelped when Yumi stepped on his foot. Aelita shook her head, her expression unchanged.

"There's only one author who's written positive things about the thing," she said quietly, and wasn't surprised to see him nod. "You've read them, then?"

"F.A.H." Jeremie nodded again. "I've read them. Scattered in the backs of the London Times, every-"

"Every four months," Aelita finished. Her heart seemed shrink, and to her horror, tears began to sting at her eyes.

"Do you know who the author is?"

Aelita looked up at him quickly, opened her mouth to answer, then shut it again. Jeremie's eyes were that strange vivid blue again, the color they seem to turn when he was upset. He knew. Panic threatened to claw at her throat. Was she that obvious? She felt as if he could see right through her as she forced herself to breathe.

"I do not." There. It was simple as that. And just as untrue.

Jeremie watched her, no change in his expression. Then slowly, he smiled, and nodded.

"Nor do I. I wish I did though." He frowned again, glancing around the room, as if re-imagining the mess it had been a while before. "But who would do all of that just to get at a few papers about a folk tale?"

Another shudder went through her, and this time she avoided his gaze. "I don't know. So few seem to have heard of it, and even fewer believe."

"Do you?"

Again, she had to swallow hard against the fear that pushed acid towards her heart. She shrugged. "I...I have an open mind."

Odd snorted. "Well, that's bloody true." Aelita and Yumi both glared at him, and he held his hands palm up, his expression overly innocent. "What?"

Yumi rolled her eyes, and gently shoved at Aelita. "Well, this has been interesting, but you look, dear, like you're about to fall over." When Aelita frowned and shook her head, Yumi grabbed her arm gently. "Professor Belpois will take over the class for the day, alright?" She turned to wink at Odd. "You two boys get along now. We're hoping you can manage without us."

Odd and Jeremie looked at each other. "I won't blow up the school if you don't," Jeremie told him, offering a hand in peace. Odd's lips twitched, and after a moment, he took it, finally relenting. They shook hands as Aelita put her head in her hands, sighing.

"It appears I'm out numbered," she said, trying to ignore the faint relief that mingled with the panic and the exhaustion. "Professor- I..I mean J-Jeremie..." Why was it so hard to say his name? A blush crept up her cheeks when he looked at her, and smiled kindly. "I can't thank you enough for this. The younger children were just finishing their projects in science, it should be fairly easy. There's..." she frowned. "I can't remember where the papers are, perhaps I should-"

"Oh, no, you don't, Miss Aelita," Yumi said gently, a laugh in her voice. "You're going home. Come on. I'll get the school car. It's important." She glanced back at Odd. "You know what to do." Odd just grinned, and gave her a flamboyant bow. Yumi rolled her eyes, and gently guided Aelita out of the room.

The two women were silent as they rode the short distance to Aelita's flat. Finally, Yumi looked up at Aelita, who was staring out the window, a haunted expression on her face.

"You tested him," she said softly. It was an accusation. Aelita nodded, not answering. Yumi sighed. "We can't trust him, you know that. How much does he know?"

Aelita shrugged, her green eyes sad as she looked at her friend. "I don't know, Yumi-chan. But he didn't do this. He wasn't lying to Odd. He had no way." She shook her head. "It's impossible."

Yumi's smile was sad as she watched her friend. The carriage car squeaked to a halt, and Aelita stood slowly, as if weighted down by the world. "You, of all people, know that nothing is impossible."

Aelita just shook her head, patting her friend's hand once as she stepped out of the carriage.

Once inside, instead of walking up the steps to the main section of her flat, she moved quietly down a darkened hallway to the left. A tiny cupboard with a black door was at the end of it. Sighing, Aelita glanced behind her, then gently pressed her hand to the door. It popped open, and she reached inside.

The tiny clock was strangely shaped, with three spirals for a center and four long pieces, almost like a head, two arms and a single leg, around it. Dust covered the wheels and gears partly visible in the dark. The mental glinted at her as two hands ticked away on a face without numbers.

A single tear hit the center spiral, and words seemed to write themselves slowly on the four long pieces.

"I know, father. I know." Muttering softly, Aelita waited for the words to become clear, the fingers gently touching the edges trembling violently. After a moment, she spoke the words that appeared there, knowing them already. Fear had engraved them into her heart.

"The Countdown Has Begun."

A sob escaped Aelita, and she gently put the Virtual Timepiece back into it's hiding place. Shutting the door, she stood there for a long moment, fading into the shadows.


	8. Chapter 8

Two days later, no bell rang at the school. Instead, children crowded the streets along with adults, chattering excitedly. Some waved tiny union jack flags, others raced back and forth with little toy drums.

A booming drum roll sounded, and the crowd broke out into cheers. In the distance, men marched in time to the drums, which had now become a cadence. People clapped with the beat, and the cheer grew louder.

"Welcome back, men! Troop 13, under command of General Moralas, from the depths of the Orient!"

The cheering grew louder as the soldiers marched into view. Heads head high, backs straight, feet in perfect time.

No one in the crowd could see the bandages, the limps, the shadowed eyes that darted from face to face. As if looking for someone to know, to call out to, to recognize.

In the crowd, one set of dark eyes also searched for a face. They all looked the same, Yumi Ishyama realized, knowing she was being foolish. And the solider she knew...sighing, she shook her head, and turned away from the parade.

Not for the first time that day, his head was pounding. HIs left eye, hidden behind bandages, stung from the sweat that continued to drip down into his face. The drums blasting that lead him and his comrades on did little to help matters.

"That blasted carnival's been done for hours," he muttered, throwing his rifle and sword down in a heap. His back cracked in gratitude from being released from the weight, and he sighed. "They need to cut it out."

General Moralas, a big man with an even bigger presence, had overheard him. "That carnival's what's welcoming you home!" He slapped the solider on the back, making him almost fall over. "Besides, coming home, a fellow like you will find someone to come home too," he added, winking.

"Do you have one, sir?" Called another of the soldiers, grinning. "Someone to come home too?"

The general raised his eyebrows, and clamped his mouth shut. "I would rather not speak of it," he said after a minute, and sniggers echoed around the park where they had stopped. "Cheer up, Stern," the general said, ignoring the laughter from the troop. "You're home now."

Once the man walked away, Lieutenant Ulrich Stern sighed, shaking his head. So much had changed in the city since he had been here last. Standing, he looked out the door, up at the ever-changing industrial skyline of London.

"If I ever had a bloody home to come back too."

Suddenly, a force smacked him hard on the shoulder, catching him off guard. "The bloody hell-" Spinning around as his headache began to pound with renewed strength, Ulrich glared at who ever had disturbed him. "Who do-"

"It is you! You rubber-headed git! How are you?"

Blond hair over purple eyes. Purple everywhere. Ulrich's eyebrows raised and his eyes widened.

"O-Odd?!"

The young man grinned at the solider, his hands on his hips. "Didn't think we'd miss your homecoming, there, mate?" He snorted. "Forgetful as usual, and just as gloomy." Grabbing Ulrich's arm, he pulled him out of the stable and back down the road. "Come on, you're not staying here. My cousin, you remember her? She'll kindly prepared a room for you, I think, old man, come on. You can stay with us!"

Ulrich pulled back, staring. "LIke hell! What about your uncle?" The second the question left his mouth, he regretted it. Odd's smile faded, and he shrugged.

"The madman upshot and left," he explained quietly. "Without tell us a word. Don't bring it up too Princess, she's sore still. It's been a while."

"That little puff of funny colored hair?" Ulrich tried to focus on the distant memory.

Odd snorted and his smile returned. "You'll see, mate." He winked. "Quite the catch, my little cousin."

"If she's related to you, the madness is catching!" But Ulrich grinned back, his headache finally fading.

"So, tell me, Lieutenant Stern, of your travels. What'd you do to your eye? And why-" Chattering, Odd led Ulrich down the street.

"Oddric should be back soon." Aelita glanced out the window, watching as life moved on below in the streets. Men came and went, women bustled by. Occasionally someone would look up her window, but she always pulled away before anyone could see her. A gentleman in a monocle glanced up her way, then got into a carriage on the opposite side the street. It happened everyday. Aelita sighed. It was better this way. No one knew she was there. She glanced back, and at Yumi who was helping set the table.

"Thank you again, Miss, for inviting me all these times," Yumi muttered, finishing her task. "I must be a burden, it-"

Aelita sighed, and smiled at her friend. "Yumi-chan," she teased, using the honorific from Yumi's mother language. "You've know me for...what...three years?"

"Four, Miss, but-"

"And have I ever once turned you out? We're equals, silly. And you are more than welcome, so far from home."

Yumi smiled wryly and shook her head. "England is my home, now. Far better than..." she shook her head. Aelita never pressed her for details about Yumi;s life in Japan. The woman still had scars, and Aelita knew she had no right to go poking at them. Opening her mouth to try and comfort her, a loud thud came from downstairs.

"Finally! That dolt's back. He must've gotten hooked in by a pretty face or some such." Muttering to herself, Aelita peeked out the window again. And frowned. "And who on goodness's feet is that with him?"

"Miss?"

But Aelita was already down the stairs, and quickly yanked open the door.

"Cousin!" Odd threw his arms out wide if to catch her up in a hug, but Aelita stepped back, her eyes narrowed.

"There you are, Oddric." She cocked her head to one side, eyebrows raised. "Who's this?"

The tall young man, his tan face partly covered a bandage, bowed to her slightly. "Lieutenant Stern, miss. We met many-"

"Ulrich?!" Aelita stared. "Goodness! You went off to the Orient, didn't you? What happened? And..wait, Lieutenant?!"

Ulrich gave Odd a sidelong look. "She really is your cousin, there, chatterbox."

Aelita, hearing this and see Odd's answering grin, rolled her eyes. "And you two are idiots." She beamed at him anyway. "Come in, please. You must have been that parade today." She lead the two men up the stairs as Odd and Ulrich tried to out talk each other in explaining to her.

"You see, he was-"

"Shut up, you git, let me-"

Aelita giggled, and shook her head. "We'll talk later, then." Reaching the top floor, she smiled, looking for Yumi. Not seeing her, she glanced back at the boys. "You must be starving, please, come and eat with us. I hope you don't mind the lack of space."

"You've never invited me when I look starving," Odd mumbled, poking his cousin's shoulder when he got close enough. Aelita raised an eyebrow at him.

"Odd, dear, if I fed you every time you said you were starving, there'd be no food left in all of London, let alone my tiny kitchen." Ulrich snorted, and a soft laugh trilled behind him. Turning, his eyes fell on the young woman who had just come into the room. And the breath left his lungs.

Yumi stared point-blank at the solider who was standing next to her two friends.

"P-pardon me-" she gasped, unable to think, just as the man started towards her.

"Yumi..san?" Disbelief mixed with hope rang in his voice.

Her eyes wide and terrified, Yumi took a step back, jerked into a polite nod to Aelita, then run upstairs.

Aelita and Odd stared at each other.

"What the bloody hell was that about?"

Aelita heard the door to the guest room slam shut, and she shook her head. "I don't know, Odd. I really don't know."


	9. Chapter 9

The chaos of the soldier's parade that day had faded into silence, the harsh light of day giving over to the setting sun, and the shadows that followed it. A solitary union jack flag tumbled over the road. Few Londoners wandered these streets after dark. Those too poor to do otherwise hid in the corners, crouching away from the chilly spring air that flickered down the narrow cobblestone streets.

Footsteps echoed like gun shots through the air. Huddled, gloved hands tucked in his pockets against the wind, a single gentleman strode down the cracked sidewalk in the semi-darkness. Snippets of mutterings flew on the breeze like whispers, like the flickering flames of the street lamps. In the distance, a clock boomed the time, church bells tinkled a melody. But the sound was dimmed here. Dulled. The only thing to be heard was the breeze, the footsteps, and the whispers.

The lonely gentleman turned up to the stairs of one of the town houses. Before he even got the door, lights flickered on inside the house. Now the sound of loud talking split the air. The door flew open.

"We're closed, sir, the newspaper doesn't-"

"I'm here on special business."

About to close the door, the doorman paused. "Hm. What kinda business?"

"I'm looking for the author of some of these articles." The gentleman, half hidden behind the thrown open door, handed something to the doorman. The doorman's expression was thrown into shadow from the lights behind him.

"Oh, from the oddity section," he scoffed after a second, and shoved the papers back at the visitor. "We don't know who it is. And we're closed."

"But this signature, 'F.S.' You must know who-"

"We are closed sir. Good day!" The door slammed shut in the gentleman's face.

Sniggers echoed behind the gentleman, but when he spun around, they stopped.

"Idiot," the gentleman muttered, shaking his head and stuff the articles back in his coat pocket. "Of course they'd be closed." Setting off back down the way he came, the gentleman didn't notice the nearly inaudible footfalls that began to follow him.

Still muttering to himself, the gentleman stopped under a lamp and took out his pocket watch. The light flickered down, flickering of the glasses and the tired blue eyes behind them.

"'Scuse me, there, govna'. You lost?"

Jeremie looked up and found himself face to face with a figure. No face was visible from under the hood of the dark cloak, and the smell of stale liquor wafted from the man's breath as he leaned closer.

"No, thank you. I am not lost," Jeremie replied politely and tried to move around him. Someone sniggered from behind him, and Jeremie turned, a feeling of dread seeping over him. There was two others behind him, hooded like the first one.

"Oh, but you are," the speaker, giving a hoarse laugh. "Don' worry. We'll help you find ya way."

"What's them papers ya got," snapped one of the muggers behind him. "They of any value?"

Jeremie blinked, realizing he was still holding the articles he had tried to show the man at the printers. "Not monetary, no," he answered and tried to move around them. When they just blocked his way again, his eyes narrowed in impatience. He didn't have time for this.

"What do you want, gentleman? I have no money on me. I'm little help."

"Naw...you think he's telling the truth, boys?"

Without an answer, one of the ruffians grabbed Jeremie's arm, and tried to rip the articles from his hand. "Oy! Those are important! Leave off!" Jeremie shouted, trying to wrench his arm back. The man might've been drunk, but he was no weakling. Jeremie yelped when his shoulder jerked hard, then stumbled backwards, his heart now pounding in his throat. Pain thrashed up his arm as the three thugs moved closer.

Oh bloody wonderful...Fear, pain and desperation made his head spin even faster. Doors slammed in his face, probably about to be mugged and killed on the streets of this blood city-

"Oy!"

A loud shout echoed through the streets.

"You bloody gits, leave off!" Someone was racing towards them, bellowing. The three thugs glanced at each other, then backed up. "Oy!" The shadow figure moved closer, than turned and motioned as if trying to get other people to follow him. "Come on, mates!"

The next moment, the three muggers stumbled off down the street before the shadowy figure took another step.

"Hey!"

Jeremie looked up, trying to crouch over from the pain in his shoulder.

"You alright there sir? Not very-" The speaker stopped dead just as he came into the lamplight. "Belpois?!"

"D..." Jeremie fought to remember the man's name. "Della-Robera?

"What the bloody hell a fellow like you doin' out on the streets at night?" Odd helped Jeremie stand, his expression somehow torn between horrified and delighted. "Never thought a professor like you'd-"

"No, no nothing of that sort," Jeremie said quickly, shaking his head before the other man could finish the suggestion. He could feel his face heating up in embarrassment. "I was being foolish." He straightened his back, only to grunt in pain and lean over again. The suspicious look on Odd's face slid quickly to concern.

"Look, Professor, let's get you somewhere, have that shoulder looked at." Before Jeremie could protest, the taller man grabbed him lightly by his good arm and started leading him the street. "Princess's house is right down this way. She'll fix you up, I bet."

Princess?

Aelita.

Jeremie's face went white.

"No! No...I mean..." He tried to pull back, shaking his head. He couldn't be seen like this, not by anyone. It was bad enough that Odd saw him. The whole academy would know by tomorrow, Jeremie thought, panicked. He couldn't let Aelita...especially not her...He couldn't let her see him like this. "I c-can't impose, it's-"

"Don't be daft, Belpois," Odd said, starting to grin. He couldn't wait to see his cousin's reaction when he brought her new professor in, especially in the state he was in. His mad little cousin needed some help, he decided. When JEremie winced and clutched his shoulder again, he sighed. Perhaps so did this fellow. Glancing down, he noticed that Jeremie was clutching a group of papers tightly in his bad hand. So tightly his knuckles were white.

"Did they try to take something, there Professor?"

Jeremie, trying to push the glasses that were threatening to slide off his face from perspiration, shook his head. "They're just articles from one of the papers. I've been trying trace the author for months."

"You have a name?"

"Just initials. F.S. Nothing else. But it's probably a hoax. The whole timepiece legend is, most likely."

"Legend?"

Jeremie winced, realizing what he was saying. Apparently the pain in his arm had his head go stupid. Shut up about the timepiece, you idiot, he told himself firmly, trying to ignore the pain starting to dart down his back. "N-nothing, never mind. But we're c-close to the academy, if you could just-" his arm twitched again and he cut off, cursing under his breath.

"They got you good, there Professor," Odd said, nodding and walking a little faster. "We're almost there." Totally ignore Jeremie's protests, he pulled the wounded teacher down the street. Odd glanced up, and smiled. Of course. Aelita still had her lights on, what with the others probably still there. His smile widened. This would be interesting.

"I'm g-grateful to you, Della-Robera," Jeremie forced, trying once again to shake the man off. "But this too much trouble, for you and...and..."

Odd raised an eyebrow. "It'd be more trouble if you went out cold on the steps of the academy," he replied wryly. "Then there would be rumors."

Just then, the sound of a door slamming shut echoed down the street.

"Oddric! Why do you always have to go off wandering, especially after you dragged poor Ulrich here and-"

Aelita stopped cold, her eyes on the slumped figure leaning against her cousin. "Odd?! What happened?!" Despite the cold air around, she found she couldn't move. Who...what on earth?

"His shoulder's busted, Princess, careful." Odd jerked his head in a nod. "Apparently we got another for breakfast."

Dreading the reaction that he knew would follow, Jeremie lifted his head, and tried to smile politely at the stunned woman in front of. "Hello, Professor S-stones," he gasped out, and watched the remaining color drain from her face. "I-" The next second, his eyes slid shut and he went dead weight on Odd's side, his glasses falling to the ground. Odd cursed.

"Damn idiot. They really did get him," he snapped, finally seeing the slowly growing stain on the back of Jeremie's jacket. "He's losing blood quickly."

"Jeremie Belpois?" Aelita hurried forward, and gently took the wounded man's good arm. "What on earth happened to you?" She glanced at her cousin, her eyes narrowed. "What'd you do, Oddric?"1

"Nothing! I-"

But Aelita ignored his indignant squawk, taking up some of Jeremie's weight from her cousin. "Come on, dolt," she said, forcing panic down. "You can explain once we get him awake."

If he wakes up.

Aelita shuddered and pushed away that thought. She took a step forward, then stopped. Jeremie's glasses. Ignore the weight and Odd's cursing, she picked up the glasses, pushing them gently into the breast pocket of her blouse. Then, glancing once last time behind into the dark streets, she entered the house.

Chuckling softly, a figure stepped back into the light of the lamp only a few feet away from where the three of them had been moments earlier. "Most interesting, little princess. Most interesting."

Laughing, the figure flicked a single paper to the ground and walked away, back into the darkness.

"Your time is running out."


	10. Chapter 10

Hi, dear readers and awesome ppl that you are. Just wanted to say thanks so much for reading the story thus far, espeically after that sorry excuse for a chapter 9. Hopefully this will help explain things- and raise more questions, but that's the fun part. ^^ Thanks again for reading!

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By the time she had reached the top of the stairs into her flat, Aelita half-expected her legs to give out. She glared, over the unconscious Jeremie's head, at Odd. "You do know you could help with the weight some, dear cousin," she snapped, trying to catch her breath. "You brought him here."

"Would you rather have had me leave him out there?" Odd retorted, but tried to lift their passenger a little higher out of the way.

"I-" Aelita opened her mouth, then shut it again. The idea of leaving Jeremie unconscious in the middle of the London streets gave her an ugly pinch in her stomach. A chill went up her spine as she looked down into the still face of the man she carried. Why had he been out so late anyway? And why on earth was he attacked? Pushing the questions out of her head, Aelita huffed and turned into her living room.

"Put him on the couch," she instructed Odd, who nodded. Just then, the sound of footsteps sounded behind them.

"Aelita, I'm sorry about-"

Aelita glanced back to see Yumi staring open mouthed at the sight before her. If it had been a different situation, Aelita would have laughed out loud at her friend's expression. It was not easy to shock Yumi Ishyama. But now she just shook her head.

"Oddric's found another stowaway," she explained wryly as the other woman composed herself. "He's lost some blood. Could you get the bandages in the cabinet?"

"Yes, Miss."

After setting Jeremie gently as they could on the small couch, Aelita stood slowly, wincing when her back cracked. After a second, she rounded on Odd.

"What happened?"

Odd shook his head, his expression innocent. "He was mugged, Princess. That's what it looked like." He shook his head.

Aelita gapped at him. "Mugged? Where?! By whom?"

Odd shrugged. "He was done on Whimpole Street, and was surrounded by the time I got there." Despite the situation, he sniggered slightly. "He was trying reason with them. Three sheets to the wind, the lot of them, and took off quick when they saw me coming." He finished this last sentence and stood as if posing for a statue. Aelita's lips twitched and she shook her head.

"It's good you got there when you did." She eyed him suspiciously. "Not three sheets yourself, there, Oddric?" Odd opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Yumi with the bandages.

"I brought them all," she explained quietly, her voice barely above a whisper as she handed the white fabric out to Aelita. "I'm sorry if it's too-"

Aelita shook her head. "It's perfect. Now, could you help me roll him over?" She swallowed hard at the sight of the dark stain on Jeremie's jacket, and braced herself. "We have to be gentle, or it will only strain his shoulder more."

"Bloody hell, what'd he do to deserve that?!" Odd cursed a second later when they started gingerly peeling the coat from him. Red blood turned the dark blue shirt he wore black, a stain that trickled half way up his arm.

"One of his attackers had a knife, perhaps?" Yumi suggested as she helped peel the shirt back. The sleeping professor winced and grunted. Aelita swore softly.

"We need to hurry. It will hurt far more if he wakes up."

"I don't know how to tie a bandage," Odd admitted, shaking his head. He angled his neck to peer at the ugly scratches and bruise that decorated Jeremie's shoulder.

Yumi copied him, looking pale. "I do, but it needs to be cleaned first. Otherwise it'll get infected."

"I will do it." Odd both stared at her, and Aelita suddenly wondered why she had volunteered. She swallowed hard, trying not to look at the blood stains. Instead, she focused on Jeremie's still face and sighed. "I'll do it," she repeated, her voice stronger this time.. "Oddric, the soap in the-"

"Already on it, Princess."

Aelita nodded, then looked down at him. "Not the time for modesty, I guess," she muttered, and proceeded to peel the rest of Jeremie's shirt off. Luckily, the blood hadn't gone farther.

"I'll get the stains out of his clothing," Yumi told her. "It's easy to do."

Aelita stared at her. "You're not even effected by the sight of it?" When Yumi didn't answer, Aelita reached out with her free hand and touched her friend's pale face. "I'm sorry, Yumi-chan. Are you sure that you're-"

Yumi nodded, suddenly standing quite straight. "I can do it," she replied. "Please excuse me." Taking the soiled clothes, Yumi bustled off into the other room. Frowning slightly, Aelita turned back to her makeshift patient and the ugly red marks that skittered up his shoulder. His chest was bruised too, she noticed, not touching him. What on earth had he done to deserve this?

"No...nothing..."

Aelita gasped and jumped back. Jeremie's eyes were still shut, but he was muttering something now. "There...just have to...find them..." He sighed, and feel silent again.

"Talking in our sleep, are we?" Aelita muttered, shaking her head, finally brushing off the last of the excess blood around the wound. Hearing quiet footfalls behind her, didn't turn, but spoke a little louder. "Did you find the soap?"

Odd stepped to her side, and grinned at her. "Yes, and how'd you know it was me?"

Aelita raised an eyebrow. "You walk like a cat, how could I not?" Before he could respond, she took the soap and cloth he handed her and started dabbing gently at the cleared cuts. "Goodness," she muttered, wincing. "I'm glad he's sleeping. This would hurt like the devil. Did he know why they attacked him?"

Odd shook his head as he handed her another cloth. "He thought they were muggers, and tried to take his papers."

Aelita blinked. "Papers?" She glanced up at her cousin and saw he had picked something out of Jeremie's limp hand. "Oddric! What are you-"

"He's looking for the author," Odd said softly, his eyes narrowing. "It's from the oddity section. F.S."

Aelita blinked at him. "F.-" She gasped and looked from her cousin, to the papers in his hand, to the comatose professor, and back again. "Give this here, please." Without waiting for him to hand them to her, she took the papers, her wide eyes skimming the contents. "But these are about the...the Timepiece," she stopped the gasp that threatened to choke her breath. Instead she looked up, met her cousins purple-grey eyes. "He said he was looking for the author?"

Odd nodded, a small, twisted smile kicking up the side of his mouth. "That's what he said, I was wondering what you'd tell him."

Aelita glared at him, then put the papers down on the table. "Nothing. The author is dead."

Odd's eyebrows raised slightly. "Protecting this fellow, are you?"

Aelita glared at him. "Hardly. If he's looking for the author on these articles...no one can know why they stopped."

"Because other wise he might have a wolfie leaping at him too?"

Her eyes flashed as she scowled. "No, Oddric, that has nothing to do with it. That was nothing."

"Nothing? A big ugly metal wolf and a messy warning?" Odd shook his head. "I know when something isn't nothing, there cousin. I don't believe half the madness you know, Princess, but I know when you're worried about someone. Unless you think he made the wolfie," he added pointedly.

"It was an automaton, you git," she snapped, keeping her voice low despite her anger. "And I am not affected by threats-"

"You don't even know who's sending them," Odd reminded her grimily, but she shook her head.

"I know what I have to do, and it has nothing to do with him!" She guestered at the sleeping Jeremie. "You said yourself you don't believe in it, so don't tell me what to do or who to protect!"

"Yes, but-"

"Hush!" Aelita put a finger over lips and guestered to the sleeping man on the couch. "Do you really want him to hear?"

Odd shrugged, his smile wry. "I don't know why you have to not tell him, but alright. You were always good at keep secrets with Uncle Frank."

Aelita rolled her eyes. "Someday you'll see, Oddric. My father wasn't mad. And neither am I." Scowling, she turned on her heel and walked out.

Her cousin stared after, eyebrows raised. Then smiling slightly, he glanced down at the sleeping Jeremie. "I dunno, Professor," he told him as if the man could understand. "But I think you got yourself a protector." He looked back up at the place Aelita had been moments ago, and for a moment his expression went bleak. "Now she just needs to let herself be protected."

10101010101010110101

Why did everything hurt so much?

Jeremie winced and took a deep breath. His shoulder hurt like it was stuck with pins and his head throbbed harder than thunder cracks. Something nudged him, something less painful, and he struggled to open his eyes. After a moment he gave up, pain stinging the backs of his eyes like pins.

Someone was humming. A quiet, sad sound that none the less somehow made the pain lesson slightly. There was a steady clicking, like a clock. Mutters and footsteps sounded muffled, as if they were above him. Taking another deep breath, something nudged his hand, and a small chill ran up his arm.

JEremie gasped, and his eyes creaked open.

At first all he saw was a blur. Dark brown wood above him, around him. A maroon something to his left, something soft under him. Someone was gently rubbing his painful arm, as if trying to loosen it up. It hurt, but not nearly as bad as it had before.

But why...

The hummer moved into view, and his eyes focused on her like a dying man. It was just the light, he thought numbly, staring in awe. How else could it appear that she was glowing? He couldn't read her expression, but her eyes seemed downcast, almost closed. The unnatural pink hair fell in curls, hiding her face slightly. The song she hummed grew slower and sadder, and the glow, a gentle, softer shade of pink than her hair, grew.

Then he blinked, and it vanished as if nothing was there.

Her gaze slid up suddenly, and met his. Aelita stared at him, as if surprised. Then, slowly, she smiled.

Footsteps thundered above them suddenly, and Jeremie felt pain snap through his head. Aelita's face began to blur again, but Jeremie fought to keep his eyes open.

"You...you are... like an angel."

Aelita drew back with a gasp, but Jeremie could no longer keep his eyes open. Sighing, he gave in, letting his mind send him back to sleep.

1010101010101010101010101110 

"What was that about?"

Aelita jumped about a foot and whirled. "Ulrich! What-"

The solider limped around the end of the stairwell, trying to smile charmingly. "Look, Aelita, it was really kind of you to set me up here, but really, I should get back. My captain insists on the men staying together, and..." He shifted uncomfortably, suddenly feeling far more self-conscious under the stern green gaze of this tiny young woman than he had ever felt in front of the rest of his troop.

"Oddric brought you here, so I suggest him. There's more than enough room for you, although I'd ask you to be a little quieter. It is, after all the middle of the night."

Ulrich raised an eyebrow, winced when the motion at pulled his head wound, and nodded. "Alright..I'll try not to be a bother...um..."

When he trailed off, Aelita cocked her head to one side. "You seemed to frighten my friend Yumi easily enough without being loud," she said after a moment. "She doesn't scare easily." When Ulrich said nothing, Aelita's eyes narrowed. "Friend as you are, if that cursed war has turned you to cruelty, you'll be out before you can think, I hope you-" She stopped when, to her surprise, a red blush started creeping up the soldier's tan cheeks.

"Yes. I know." He shook his head quickly, cursed when his brain pounded. "It...I was surprised to see her here. That is all."

I highly doubt that, Aelita thought dryly, but she simply shrugged. It wasn't her place to pry. She'd talk it over when Yumi was ready. "You are rested now?"

Ulrich nodded. "Yes," he lied, forcing a smile. Rest wouldn't come, he knew Not after seeing that face again for the first time in two years. Yumi had been terrified to see him, and had run away. Stared at him as if he was a monster, and bloody run away from him.

Feeling foolish and bitter, Ulrich muttered a curse and turned to go back up the stairs.

"Ulrich?"

He hesitated, then turned. Aelita was smiling slightly, as if nervous. "Forgive me if I accused you of something that angered you. You're welcome here, if you're welcome to it."

"I'm grateful, Miss Shaffer," he replied, not rudely.

"It's Stones, now, actually."

Ulrich blinked. "Stones?"

Her face had gone pale. "Yes. I go by that surname now."

"Your...father?" Aelita shook her head, and Ulrich winced. "I'm sorry, I'm an idiot. I shouldn't have brought it up, but-"

A soft groan cut off his words, and Ulrich and Aelita both jumped. "The bloody-" Ulrich looked around as Aelita turned back to what ever she had been doing on the other side of the room. Then Ulrich noticed the man sleeping on the couch. He raised an eyebrow.

"I guess I did disturb something earlier, I'm sorry," he said quickly, but Aelita shook her head quickly. Her face turned pink even as she frowned.

"No, no, Ulrich, that's not it." She looked back at the sleeping man. "He's...a..." she hesitated, her back to him. "A friend."

"Right." Not sure what to think, Ulrich shook his head, and headed back up stairs. "Uh...have a...goodnight..." he called awkwardly. When he heard no response, he sighed, and left Odd's strange cousin alone with her demons.


	11. Chapter 11

It was the sunlight that woke him up.

Grunting in surprise when the light began to creep through his eyelids, Jeremie turned over, and met air.

THUD!

"Bloody...buggering...hellish...stupid..."

"You kiss Princess with that mouth, friend?"

Jeremie jumped at the voice- only to smash the back of his head on the table next to the couch he had apparently fallen off of. Cursing again, Jeremie forced himself to sit, clasping his hands gingerly on his the back of his head and trying to ignore the sharp pain now darting from his hurt shoulder. Once the throbbing faded slightly, he chanced a glance up again. A stranger looked down at him, holding out a hand as if to help him stand up. Jeremie stared at him., trying to place the face behind the faded scars and tattered eye patch. The army haircut did little to help matters. "P-pardon?"

The man grinned, looking even more like a pirate than before. "How's the head?" When it was clear Jeremie was too stunned to stand up yet, the man eased back.

"Ah..." Trying to string words together, Jeremie slowly shoved himself back up onto the couch. "I...I'm sorry, I'm quite...uprooted," he continued lamely, glancing around in utter confusion. "Where are we?"

The man raised the eyebrow over his uncovered eye. "Of all people, I thought you'd know. You and Princess..." He trailed, off and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Right?"

Jeremie blinked. "P-princess...and I? What- oh!" Turning neon red, Jeremie shook his head violently, then winced when it started pounding again. "N-no, sir, it's nothing like that, I'm... not...not Aelita's...I mean, Miss Stones...l...lover...I...I mean..." his mouth went dry at the thought and the mental images that came with it, and he shoved the insane idea from his head. "I'm just a burden, brought in by her cousin." To his surprised, the other man chuckled.

"You too?" Grinning again, he stuck out a hand. "Ulrich Stern. You know Odd?"

Jeremie blinked, then smiled and shook the man's hand. "Not exactly," he explained wryly. "Although, it's hard not to know him once one starts working at the sch- Oh bloody hell!"

Ulrich stared in surprise as Jeremie leapt to his feet, tripping over the table as he hurried forward. "I have to be at the Academy! Aelita is-"

"-Expecting you to stay here, madman," Ulrich interrupted quickly, and before Jeremie could take another step, Ulrich had moved into his way. He smiled wryly, shaking his head. "Take a breather. It's Belpois, isn't it? Aelita mentioned you. Said you were..." he raised his eyebrows as he glanced at the bandages still wrapped around Jeremie's shoulder. "Attacked."

Jeremie blinked, felt embarrassment well up and shook his head. "No...it was my fault-"

"That you got mugged?" Ulrich asked wryly. Jeremie frowned slightly, and shook his head again.

"No!" He winced at the sharp tone, and forced himself to calm down. "No, I shouldn't have left so late, when I should've known that the..." he broke off. "Never mind." He forced a smile. "I'm sorry to waste your time, Mr Stern."

"It's Ulrich, Professor," the soldier replied, still smiling wryly. "Something tells me we gents should have an understanding, specially if you're working with Princess." To his annoyance, Jeremie felt himself blush slightly at the mention of Aelita. He opened his mouth to reply, but then Ulrich steamrollered on. "You'll be the science teacher with her?" When Jeremie nodded, Ulrich let out a low whistle. "She's followin' right in her father's boots, that girl is."

"Her..father?"

Ulrich nodded, leaning back against the table. "Her father was a teacher at Kadic, bunch a' years back." Seeing Jeremie's surprised expression, the soldier's eyebrows raised slightly. "Had been for ages."

Jeremie blinked, then frowned slightly. "Had been?" Had Aelita mentioned a father figure at all? He couldn't remember. Wincing, he rubbed the back of his neck. "Bloody hell. She never mentioned...not like she would, it's not my business." Muttering, he turned back to the couch, then turned back, remembering the solider still standing there in the room. "I...uh...it was...um, nice to meet you...um...Lieutenant?"

Ulrich snorted and shook his head. "The name is Ulrich Stern, and forget the Lieutenant." The smile faded slightly, but he just shrugged. "It's just empty letters now." Before Jeremie could reply, the solider saluted him sarcastically and left, going down the stairs.

"Empty letters." Jeremie shook his head, suddenly feeling dizzy. "Blood hell." Sitting back down on the couch, he rested his forehead on his fist, and forced his mind to stop spinning. Instead, the pounding headache from before came thudding back into life. Jeremie groaned and forced his eyes to open.

"Where..." His blurry eyesight only making the headache worse, Jeremie looked around with his eyes half squinted, trying to see the glimmer of his glasses. Instead, all he could see was lumps of cloth and the vague outline of the table in front of him and the staircases at the other side of the room.

"Bat-blind or not, I need to find a way to get dressed." Jeremie pushed himself off the couch with his good arm, wincing when his weight rested for a split moment on the hurt one. "Drunk idiots..." he muttered. "Serves me right for being such a-"

A soft thud sounded from below him, and Jeremie paused. Maybe Aelita had returned early.

"Damn." Jeremie's face heated in shame, trying not to think about the horrifying, probably rancid smelling image he made. Not a good way to start off an apology. "Damn," he repeated again, and made his way slowly through the blurry room to the staircase. Another bump came from downstairs, and Jeremie started to turn down the stairs.

Something moved out of the corner of his eye. Jeremie blinked and looked up, but nothing was there. He tried squinting, but it did little to help.

A quiet squeak sounded behind him. Jeremie tried to turn around, only to set the pounding headache off again. Turning back, he thought he saw another movement, a dark shadow flicker by him.

"Maybe you need stronger glasses when you find them, you idiot," Jeremie muttered to himself, and started to make his way, gingerly, down the steps. Another thud shuddered, and this time he realized it was coming from the door at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hello?" He hurried as fast as he could down the last few steps, and started toward the door. "Is anyone there?" A chill went down his spine, and he paused. "What the..." Glancing back up the way he came, he noticed a short hallway that went next to the staircase. Two doors stood shut in the shadows. A second chill hit the back of his neck, and Jeremie shivered slightly. Unsure why, he started to take a step towards those doors-

And the front door burst open with a bang.

"Bloomin' idiot, I told you not to blast the bloody thing open!"

"It's locked, so-"

"Shut it! Them could be here."

Eyes wide, Jeremie took a step back, half hiding behind the staircase. Two men, faces have hidden by shadow, slunk into the house. One wore a dirty long jacket, while the other wore a low brimmed hat over his eyes. Frozen in fear, Jeremie forgot to be quiet when he took a step back.

A board creaked, and the two trespassers whipped around.

The coat-wearer's eyes narrowed, then he smiled slowly. Yellowed teeth glinted in the light, and the man laughter hoarsely. The sound sent a chill down Jeremie's spine. That sound.

"Do I know you, sir?" The man slurred, and Jeremie took a step forward, fighting to show sort of bravery.

"Get out of this house right now!" he commanded, his fists clenched. "The lady of the house would not be pleased if she came to find your riffraff."

"The lady?" The two men looked at each other, and sniggered. Jeremie's hair stood up at the back of neck at the sound. "Well, we'll wait for her, won't we? She'd may be more pleased by us then-"

"Shut it!" Disgust and fury suddenly spouted hot in Jeremie's head, and without thinking of his wounds or how much bigger the two men were then him, he lurched foward and grabbed the coat wearing by the neck and shoved him against the wall. "You make any mention of Miss Aelita again and you will find yourself in a very unpleasant-"

A cold metal knife settled itself gently against Jeremie's throat. "You let my mate go, blonde, or you'll have more holes than just in your shoulder."

"How did-"

"You look lost again, Professor," hissed Jeremie's captive, and Jeremie's eyes widened. "Shall we help you again? Where your friend can't help you?"

Fear and surprised laced through Jeremie's head, but he refused to let his captive go, despite the knife at his neck. "The blood hell you-"

Movement flashed out of the corner of his eye, and the front door slammed shut. The hat wearer behind Jeremie let out a yell and Jeremie felt the knife drop from his skin. Jumping back, he stared at the scene in front of him.

"Touch him, you dirty fools, and you will have more than one smile," hissed a voice from behind the hat wearer, who was now stock still with a terrified expression on his face, a small silver knife pressed to his throat. "What, pray, are you doing in my house?"

It was then that Jeremie recognized the voice behind the knife. "Miss Aelita?!" When there was no answer, Jeremie watched in shock as the knife slowly eased from the thugs throat. The man looked at his partner, who was still against the wall, staring up the stairs. Following his gaze, the second let out a yelp.

"B-bloody hell!" Faces white as snow, the hat-wearing lurched forward, grabbed his partner, and the two stumbled out of the door.

Jeremie stared at the pale faced young woman still holding the knife that held a man twice her size at a stand still. "Miss...Miss Aelita?"

Aelita ignored him, gathering her skirt to slide the knife back into her boot. Straightening, she looked at him, her lovely face expressionless. "You to fight well enough for a Professor, Mr. Belpois," she informed him.

Jeremie smiled slightly. "You hold a knife well for a Professor, Miss Stones." His wry reply rung a small smile from her, and Aelita shrugged.

"A lady has to defend herself in this city," she said, and shrugged again.

Jeremie raised an eyebrow. "Can they all do what you just did?" Hold a man at knife point like a seasoned fighter? Something flashed in her green eyes, and Jeremie winced mentally. Opening his mouth to apologize, Aelita shook her head.

"If you think that's impressive, you'll adore what Miss Ishyama can do when annoyed." She cocked her head to one side. "Although perhaps you'd rather not be the one who's annoyed her." Smiling now, Aelita turned and walked up the stairs to her flat.

Jeremie gulped slightly, and followed her, unable to think of a reply.

"I imagine you had a good rest?" When she reached the top of the stairs, Aelita turned back to look at him. "I'm sorry I could not stay-"

Jeremie shook his head, trying to make his mouth catch up with his brain. "No, it's I who need to apologize, Miss Stones," he said quickly. "You saved me from-"

"It's Aelita," she reminded him, smiling wryly.

Jeremie felt his face heat slightly, and he nodded. "Yes. Aelita. You saved me, and bandaged the cut." He winced. "It must've been a mess, I'm sorry, a lady shouldn't have to-"

Aelita shook her head again. "If I hadn't done it, you'd have made a much bigger mess," she told him matter-of-factly. "Getting mugged by mindless drunks is nothing to apologize for, neither is trying to stop more mindless idiots from breaking and entering my house." Jeremie blushed again and shrugged. "How is your arm?" Without waiting for him to answer, she went to him and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. Jeremie froze, his eyes wide. Trying not to move, he could barely breathe without the faint, sweet scent that seemed to follow her slowly wind its way into his head.

"It looks much better," she was saying, and Jeremie forced his mind to focus on her voice, instead of what her touch and closeness was doing to his all ready slow moving mind. "If you give me a moment, I'll have it clean again."

"N-no please, d-don't-"

"Jeremie." Smiling now, Aelita shook her head at him. "You saved me again, brave Sir Knight. At least let me clean your war wounds." She winked at him, and left Jeremie standing there, staring after her.


	12. Chapter 12

For the first time since he had back to England, Ulrich found himself wishing he was back in uniform.

"Bloody hell, you'd think I'd grown blasted horns," he muttered, watching as people scurried around him, their eyes wide and staring. He didn't realize, of course, that the annoyance he felt showed in his expression. Instead, he just shoved his hands in his pockets and glared at the pebbles under his feet. Not paying attention, he suddenly felt his shoulder hit hard, and he grunted and staggered back. Looking up, the man who had bumped into him snarled down at him.

"Watch it, ya bleedin' idiot. The road ain't for you alone."

Ulrich's eyes narrowed and tried not to wrinkle his nose in disgust at the smell that wafted from his attacker.

"Bloody well might be-" The angry retort died on his lips, his gaze caught by something over the man's shoulder. A woman was walking across the street, her exotic face wary. Ulrich's breathe stopped for a moment when she turned, and looked his way. "'Scuse me," he muttered, and slipped around the angry drunk. The man yelled after him, but his shouts fell on deaf ears. Instead, all Ulrich heard was a pounding as he sprinted down the street.

"Yumi!"

The woman turned, and her eyes widened. She stared at him, the anger in her gaze almost tangible. Emotions tangled like knots in his head. He had to talk to her. Yell, cry, shout, plead. Something. He took a step towards her.

Then, suddenly, she turn, and fled into the crowd.

Ulrich swore under his breath, and gave chase, the people of the London streets around him become a blur.

10101010101010

Even taking breath hurt. Yumi hissed in pain and forced herself to slow down.

"Coward." Sanity rising as her heart beat slowed, she felt shame creep up in the back of her throat. "Running away from..." She pushed the thought away, her head starting to pound. Leaning against a tree, she glanced around. The small park, close to the academy, had been her hiding place many a time in the past years since she had come to England. A chill went down her spine and she shivered.

Never thought you'd be running from him, did you? Whispered a snide voice in her head. Yumi scowling and pushed that idea way. It didn't matter. They weren't the same people, and...and...

Something rustled behind her, and she glanced up, frowning. Muggers usually didn't come this part of town during the day, but...She crouched, half hiding behind the tree. Another movement was heard, this time to her left. She heard a footstep- and a hand grabbed her shoulder.

Whirling with a shout, Yumi lashed out- and found her boot knife blocked by a small, curved blade. Eyes wide with shock, she stared into the holder of the dagger.

"U-Ulrich." Her heart thudded once, twice, as her body refused to move. He hadn't been a ghost after all. How on earth had he gotten there so fast? Her head whirling, she could only stare. Ulrich's good eye narrowed slightly.

"Yumi."

Her own name in his voice broke her out of her reverie, and Yumi danced back a few steps, half longing to turn and run again.

"No- please, Yumi-chan, don't go-"

"Do not call me that."

Yumi slide the knife back into her boot and stood, not facing him.

"What?"

She heard him take a step closer, and whirled about. "Do not call me that. How DARE you call my name as if you were someone to be trusted."

Ulrich blinked, then frowned. "What are you talking about?" He stared at her, shaking his head. "How the...how did you get here? I-"

Yumi let out a hollow laugh. "What does it matter to you?" She took a step forward, raising her hand almost as if to slap him. "You lied to me, left and vanished. What doesn't matter how or why I'm here. I seemed to cease to be important to you."

"Cease to be-" Unable to form a sentence through the fury her words had sent him into, Ulrich gapped like a fish, glaring. "What the bloody hell does that mean? I told you I was leaving-"

"You, Private Stern, left in the middle of the night, with three words written on that spirit forsaken paper," Yumi snapped, darkly gleeful at the soldier's momentary speechlessness. Ulrich Stern wasn't often one left without words, she knew. "Then, almost a year later, I was told you were..." she cut off suddenly, and she shook her head. "Either way, you, Private-"

"Don't call me that."

The sharp clipped words cut off Yumi's rant and she raised her eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

Ulrich took a step forward, his good eye flashing with fury. "You don't know me, so you assume I'm the same person I was before. I'm not."

"Bloody well seems like it," Yumi snapped back, and Ulrich smiled angrily.

"You've been here long enough to talk like the English, Yumi-chan," he added, and had the satisfaction of watching the flash in her dark eyes. "But you're still as stubborn and blind as you were before." Angry as he was, confused and stunned, he didn't see the hurt that slid in behind the fury in her expression. It took Yumi a moment to reply, but when she did the cold anger in her eyes burned far worse than the hot fury seconds before.

"Goodbye, Private Stern. I doubt we'll need to talk again."

"Wait, Yumi!"

Ignoring him, Yumi turned and strode away. He called out to her again, but she only moved faster.

She barely noticed where she was going, a numbness clouding her head like a headache.

Why... how did he find her? What did he want? Why...

"Why?!" She gasped for air suddenly, her throat closing off. "Kuso," she hissed in Japanese, hating, choking on the tears that fought against her control. "Damnit...damnit..."

"Yumi?"

Yumi jerked up and stared at the young woman hurrying down the street towards her. Aelita's green eyes were narrowed in concern. "Yumi, what happened? Did someone attack you, did-"

Yumi shook her head, cutting her friend off. "N-no...just..."

"You're a terrible liar, Yumi," Aelita told her gently, and Yumi winced. Seeing this, Aelita leaned closer, even more concerned. "What happened? Please, let me help."

Yumi made herself smile, and shrugged. "No, there's nothing. Just me being-"

"Does it deal with a certain new arrival from the army?"

To her shame, Yumi felt a blush flood her face, and she turned away, but not before Aelita could see.

"It's okay." Aelita's intense green eyes flashed. "If he hurt you, Yumi, just say the word and-"

"NO!" Yumi winced at her own harsh reaction, and smiled sadly. "No. At least...not...I think the hurt might be mutual." She hesitated, then signed. If she couldn't tell this woman, the first person who ever befriended her in England, she'd not only be pathetic, but a fool. "He was stationed in Kyoto for a few months, near where my family was. Is." Her face paled at the memory. "I...we...My family took in some of them, including him." And I trusted him with everything, she thought, but couldn't speak it. There was no reason to say it. It was over. "It's done now. I...I just so surprised to see him. And..." she shook her head. "It...It didn't end well."

To her surprise, Aelita nodded slowly.

"I thought as much. When you two came face to face the other night..." Aelita paused, and gentle squeezed her friend's hand. "You looked like you had seen a ghost."

Yumi smiled sadly. "It wouldn't be far from the truth."

Aelita straightened and nodded. "THank you for trusting me with this, Yumi." She smiled gently into her the taller woman's face. "I think we're all haunted by ghosts at the moment." Yumi blinked and looked harder at her.

"You have your ghosts as well, Miss Stones?" Aelita's face went pale at this, and Yumi instantly regretted the question. "N...never mind. I...I am sorry, I should get back..."

"No, it's alright." Aelita smiled slowly, although it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Come, I doubt you had lunch. Don't fret, friend," she added, smiling more brightly at Yumi. "It'll be alright. We'll figure this out."

I'm not the one fretting, Yumi thought, even as she smiled in return at her friend. Is that reassurance for me, or for herself?


	13. Chapter 13

Aelita lead Yumi back to her flat, glancing at her friend. Yumi had just admitted the truth how she knew Ulrich, Aelita reminded herself, of course she'd be shaken. So why, when Yumi was finally looking calm again, did Aelita herself feel as if own her stomach slowly tying in knots?

Not that I could tell her in any case, Aelita thought firmly, shaking her head slightly as she opened the door to let them in. The door creaked loudly and she winced. Memory circled back, and guilt with it.

She shouldn't have left Jeremie by himself in this house. The stunned look on his face when he watched her dispose of the two thugs was burned into her mind. Had it only been a few hours ago when she had opened the door to such a sight?

"No wonder he left," she muttered, rubbing her face in frustration and guilt. The man had practically stammered his lips off, thanking her, dressing at lighting speed, and stumbling off before Aelita had barely been able to see if his wound had been healing properly. He'd probably never-

"Is Belpois still here?"

Aelita jumped, and looked at Yumi. "Wh-what?" Get it together, fool, she told herself, as Yumi raised her eyebrows. Not for the first time since their friendship started, Aelita had the sinking feeling Yumi knew that she was hiding something. "Uh...no, h-he is not," she stammered. "Why?" Rounding the top of the steps into the main room of the apartment, Aelita turned, looking away from her friend.

"Well, you muttered something about someone leaving and..."

"Oh!" Blast. Aelita cursed herself mentally, and tried to force a smile at her friend. "No, I mean...yes, since he missed most of this morning, he had to catch up on his...his notes."

Yumi raised an eyebrow. "His notes?" When Aelita barely smiled back, Yumi hesitated, tilting her head to the side. "Now you're the one who looks like you've seen a ghost, Miss Aelita," she said wryly.

Aelita shook her head, trying to pull herself together. "No, it's just..."

"Aelita, please, something's been off for days, and you know it. Is it still that attack at the school the other day with that...that machine wolf?" When Aelita's head jerked up in surprise, Yumi sighed sadly. "And you lost the articles."

Aelita went pale and shrugged, wincing when her mind spun a little. "It doesn't matter. I have the rest, and I'll find copies." Glancing around, she noticed that any signs of Jeremie's stay there the previous night had been swept away. A small chill went down her spine, and she blinked slowly. The room blurred around the edges for a moment and an annoying steady tapping sound buzzed softly in the back of her head. What on earth...? Aelita tried to focus on Yumi, what she was saying.

"You could steal them from Belpois," the taller woman suggested softly, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. Aelita jerked slightly and looked around, her vision sharpening again. "He seems to be keen enough about them."

Aelita winced, then tried to give her friend a mocking glare. "Yumi! For shame. Thieving for some foolish articles-"

Yumi didn't smile. "He was looking for the author the night he got mugged, yes?" When Aelita just started at her, Yumi raised her eyebrows. "How many different version of those articles are there?"

Aelita's lips quirked in a wry smile, but there was no humor in her eyes. "Too many to coun..." she trailed off, rubbing her head. Why was the room spinning? "B-but don't you worry, Yumi-chan. It's my problem, I'll fix it, somehow." I have too, she thought, her thoughts running wild behind her calm expression. They can't...she can't...No. Just...no. They're already risking enough for me already. Looking away, towards the window, Aelita stared blindly down into the street, gripping the counter for stability.

"And the countdown?" When Aelita's face went pale again and she weaved back and forth slightly, Yumi's shrewd expression melted into one of concern. "Miss Aelita? Are you-"

The edges of the furniture, the walls...everything was blending together in front of her, bleeding colors into one fuzzy mass. Aelita gasped, staggering to one side. "I..." There was a ticking, echoing in her ears now, like a clock. "It's moving too fast," she whispered, trying to blink her eyes to clear them. "Time's going to fast..."

"Miss Aelita?!" Yumi grabbed her friend by the arm just as she started to sink to the floor. "Aelita?!"

Terrified when the girl simply slid limply to the floor, Yumi stared wildly about. Glancing out the window to see there was a constable she could call to for help, her eyes fell on a man dressed in grey who was staring up- straight at their window. A single circle of glass glinted over one eye, but the rest of his face was in shadow. Still...a chill went down Yumi's spine, and for a moment, she thought she heard a soft ticking, somewhere behind her. Her eyes narrowed, her hands unconsciously gripping harder on her friend's.

Then the man turned away, and the ticking faded into echos.

1010101010101010110110101

A lonely grandfather clock marked the time. The sound echoed down the Kadic Academy hallways, barely reaching the ears of the man walking there. Jeremie strode down the corridor, trying to retrace his steps.

"I am not lost," he muttered to himself, moving faster. "I just...forgot the turn. I..." Confused, he glanced back behind him. He was only trying to get to the school library, but all the hallways looked the same here.

"You're lookin' lost to us, mate," muttered a voice, and Jeremie turned back around- but no one was there. A chill went down his spine, and he moved faster. His hands clenched into fists, and paper crunched.

Jeremie blinked and looked at the papers in his hands. "What the..." He squinted, moving close the flickering lamp closest. Why was he carrying newspaper articles? "'This creation, this object of salvation, will bring true peace to us. We commanders, we gods of time, bring all to a eternal paradise on a blood stained path-"

Something sniggered, hissing cold breath in his ear. Jeremie yelped and spun around.

"Who's there?!" He glanced back at the article he had been reading. "Understand what?"

Only silence met his ears, but the smell of alcohol burned into his nose, and he winced. Turning back to the article in his hands, he gasped in shock and dropped the pages. Wordless now, covered only with blood stained fingerprints, the papers fluttered towards the ground.

Jeremie stared in horror. "The...hell?"

"You look lost, Professor, let's find you your way out, shall we?"

That hiss of a voice spit behind him, and Jeremie whirled about. Opening his mouth to shout, no sound came out. Bile rose in his throat and he grunted in fear. The smell of blood and alcohol seemed slither into his brain.

"Professor...Oy! Professor! Belpois!"

A shout blasted through his ears- Jeremie woke up with a start.

Gasping for breath, Jeremie leaned forward, setting his forehead against the cool table in front of him. "What...what the blasted..." Catching his breath, he sat up again, and peered around, bleary-eyed.

Oddric Della-Robera lounged in the chair across the table from him, grinning. "You look peaky, Professor." He slid a book away out from under Jeremie's elbow. Looking at the cover, he snorted. "Then again, anything about physics'd give me nightmares right off too."

"N-no...that's not it..." Shaking his head slowly, Jeremie gently pulled the book back. "I- I'm sorry, Mr. Della-Robera, I didn't realize I'd be disturbing anyone-"

Odd cocked an eyebrow. "'Mister'?" He snorted again. "Look, Professor, you spent the night with my cousin-" Jeremie's jaw dropped open and his face turned scarlet at this statement, but Odd just continued as if he didn't notice, "We've discovered that you have a habit of attracting muggers, and a habit of muttering nonsense in your sleep. Call me Odd. It fits better."

Jeremie swallowed slowly, mentally digesting that. "Well...alright. Thank you, Mr- I mean, Odd. Now-"

Once again, Odd cut him off. "The head master's looking for you, Professor," he explained, rolling his eyes. "Wants a report...and..." Odd leaned forward on his elbows, his friendly smile fading slightly. "And tell me why my cousin isn't teaching her classes, when you're here."

Jeremie blinked and gapped at him. "Wh-what?" His head spun again, and he gulped. "I...I supposed she's cleaning up from-" Odd's purple eyes narrowed and Jeremie's words froze on his lips. Perhaps it wouldn't be such a good idea to tell this fellow, Aelita's very protective cousin, that he himself had basically let a group of thugs in by the front door. "I...I mean..."

Odd raised his eyebrows and stood slowly. "Well, if you've left her peace, at least there's that. She's worried enough about you already." He winked. "She didn't let on, did she?"

"I...uh..." He's warning me off, Jeremie realized, as guilt crept in. Of course he is, I've been a burden to her since I got here. Blushing hotly, he stood.

"Yes...she won't have to worry about me much more. I'll go...go talk to the headmaster about that report now." He hesitated, then nodded to Odd. "Thank you for waking me up, Della-Robera." He smiled wryly. "You seem to have a knack for rescuing me."

Odd nodded, hooking his thumbs in the pockets of his pants. "If ya get into any more trouble, Professor, just yell." He grinned and started to move towards the door.

Suddenly, the door to the library flew open. Both men jumped and stared at the police constable in the doorway.

"Oddric Della-Robera?"

Taking a step forward, Odd cocked his head to one side. "Y'sir?"

"Get him!"

Suddenly, more police men flooded into the room, all grabbing and shouting at Odd.

"Oy!" Odd yanked his arm away, glaring. "What's the bloody charges before you tear my arms out?!"

"Shut it, convict," snapped one of the officers. "Speak unless spoken too."

Why was everything moving so slowly? Jeremie watched the action in front of him as if it was moving through water. He barely felt his feet moving him around the table and towards the flailing mob of men.

"Bloody hell I won't!" Odd was still furiously snapping at the officers, even as they tried to march him out of the room. One of the police men paused and leaned close to Odd's face. The words hissed barely reached Jeremie's ears, yet he heard them all the same.

"Thief, you'll shut your mouth or lose your tongue. Yer got that?"

Thief?

"Stop!"

Halfway out the door, the police officers paused to glance back at him. Odd stayed still. Under the gaze of the policemen, Jeremie shrank back, his heart in his throat. What on earth had come over him? Who was he to stop them?

"What do you want, civilian?" snapped one of the men, twitching the brim of his cap lower over his face.

Jeremie took a step forward. "I...I...Odd isn't a thief, you must have the wrong-"

"Keep your nose out of it!" Shouted the same police man, and poked Jeremie back with his club. "Bloody outsider." Before Jeremie could respond, the policemen turned back around and pulled Odd away.


	14. Chapter 14

Hey, ya'll wonderful readers. From the reviews I've gotten (and thank you for those, by the way, feedback is awesome! ^^ ) I'm sorry if the last few chapters have been confusing. Not all the questions will be answered, but the pace is slowly speeding up. And after this, we'll spin away from Jeremie for a bit, get some of the charicters in. Hope you like this, that it all makes sense, and thank you soooo much for reading and staying with me on this mad adventure!

Now on with the story...where we left off:

"Outsider?!" The insult rang in Jeremie's ears as he stood only a few steps from the door where Odd had been dragged out by policemen. "What on earth did he mean by that? Blast and damn, what am I doing..." He turned back for a moment, shaking his head. "It's not my place to help, but...damn and blast..."

What had Odd said him, that he, Jeremie had a knack for needing help? Jeremie's eyes narrowed. "Bloody hell if I can't help him now." Cursing softly, he strode forward and out into the hallway after them, slamming the library door behind him.

The officers were already no where to be seen. "Of course," he muttered, glancing behind him. "That'd be too easy." He hurried down the hallway, scowling. By the time he had reached the main floor, the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up. What on earth was going on? The silence in the halls was deafening. He could almost hear the sound of the main clock of the school ticking hollowly over the sound of his footsteps.

Bloody footsteps...

A shudder went down his spine as an echo of his earlier nightmare flickered through his brain. He shook his head hard-

BAM! The door in front of Jeremie flew open.

Jeremie gasped, almost falling over backwards to avoid being hit in the face.

"Oh, pardon m- Belpois?!"

Jeremie stumbled backwards, his eyes wide. A tall man stood in front of him, a politely surprised smile on his face. Jeremie stared. What on earth was he doing here?

"Professor Henabel?!"

The man smiled wider, and twisted the gray top hat on his head. "Well, fancy seeing you here, Belpois." The monocle in his left eye glinted dully as he chuckled. "How is your research coming?"

"I...Well since you got me the job, sir," Jeremie started, taking a step back. He found himself smiling. What had he been chasing after?This, after all, was the man who had sent him to London for this position at Kadic in the first place. "What brings you to London, Professor? I haven't heard anything of you since I left for this city. What's occurring at the university to bring you this far?"

Henabel guestered with the elegant gray cane he held. "Checking up on one my best students." He smiled and held out a hand. "Any luck with your research? I hear the substitute here has given you some trouble."

"W-what?" Taken aback, Jeremie drew his hand away. "The substitute? The professor here..." he trailed off when Henabel laughed and shook his head, setting the tiny chain hooking his monocle to his grey over coat jingling. "A woman, yes? What was her name?" He laughed again. "I'm sure you've got much to teach these..." his upper lip curled slightly. "...poor children, then than she could."

Jeremie's eyes narrowed slightly. "I beg your pardon sir, but Miss Stones is just as adept at the arts of science and-"

Once again, Henabel laughed and waved Jeremie's words away. "Be that as it may, tell me, young Professor..." He trailed off, and the snide glance from before had vanished as if it had never been there. Jeremie blinked and adjusted his glasses. "Your research on the articles I gave you. How has that been coming?"

"The..." Jeremie winced. "Oh...the articles. Not that well, sir." He smiled wryly. "Although Miss Ae- I mean, Ms Stones has actually a great deal of knowledge on the Virtual Timepie-" Henabel held up a hand suddenly, and Jeremie fell silent, confused. But Henabel simply smiled slowly.

"Does she now?" He shook his head. "Stones, did you say? Interesting. I wondered if the rumors are true, and the supposed origins of the thing are here."

Jeremie blinked at him. "That I couldn't say sir, the papers-"

"You haven't found where it came from yet?" the smile vanished from Henabel's face. "I thought you would have contacted the papers, or-"

"I- I did sir," Jeremie stammered, taking a step back. There was an angry tic pulsing in Henabel's jaw and for a moment, Jeremie was at loss for words. A door slammed somewhere, echoing hollowly. "But well..." Thoughts his disastrous trek to the newspaper headquarters the other night flipped through his brain, and Jeremie winced. "Well...they see it as madness," he added lamely. To his relief, his former teacher seemed to have been expecting this answer. He sighed, and smiled, the angry expression fading as quickly as it came.

"Outsiders, the lot of them." He winked at Jeremie. "But we know better do we not, Belpois?"

Outsiders? Taken aback, the sound of shouting reached Jeremie's ears. Frowning, he took a step back. Had class been let out already? The bell hadn't rung. So why...

"Belpois? Belpois, I say, are you alright?"

"- Somebody?! Help, please!"

Jeremie jolted, going back a step and looking around wildly. "What on earth?" Henabel didn't seem to have heard the cry that spilled up the hallway. Someone raced around the corner, barreling down the hallway.

"Yumi?!"

Almond shaped eyes wide, Yumi stopped dead in her tracks a few yards away from the two men. Jeremie stared, meeting her gaze squarely. Confusion and fear pulsed from the normally calm woman, and Jeremie quickly took a step towards her.

"Well, Belpois, I may be here for a while...here." Halfway around him, Jeremie quickly turned back to Henabel, stumbling over his own feet. "My card. The address of my temporary residence-"

The rest of Henabel's sentence was lost as Jeremie muttered an apology, grabbed the out-held the card, and hurried towards Yumi.

To his surprise, Yumi's eyes darted from him back to where Professor Henabel stood. She took a step back, the fear in her face changing slowly. Her eyes narrowed.

"Yumi?!" Jeremie hesitated, stepping closer. It seemed as if she couldn't even hear him. "Yumi, what's going on, what happened? Did you see Odd? He just got arrested, I don't know what's going, but, we have to tell Aelita, she-"

"Aelita's out cold at her flat," Yumi stated softly, her gaze snapping back to Jeremie. Her pale face went ghost white. "We have to hurry. I don't know what trouble Oddric has gotten into now, but Aelita needs help."

His heart leap into his throat, and Jeremie opened his mouth. Yumi glanced beyond him, back down the hallway, then shook her head. "No time to explain, we need to go." Her eyes narrowed once more, then she turned ran off the direction she had come.

Jeremie looked back once, frowning. Henabel was no where to be seen. A shudder went down Jeremie's spine, but he ignored it, and hurried after Yumi.

101010101010101

The man in grey.

Yumi's head was spinning by the time she reached Aelita's flat. She could hear Jeremie puffing behind her, trying to keep up. She ignored him. He wouldn't answer the questions she had no right asking.

"M-Miss Ishyama, please, slow down." He was practically gasping for breath now. Yumi closed her eyes, praying to the spirits for patience, then turned around. "We need to hurry. You have some medical training, yes?" When he just started at her, Yumi growled under her breath, unlocked the door to the small house, and hurried inside.

"How did she faint? She seemed fine when I left, when-" When they rounded the corner at the top of the stairs, Jeremie froze. "Aelita?!" The young man raced forward to the still form on the couch. He looked back at Yumi. "Please, Miss Yumi, how did she get like this?"

Yumi's eyes widened slightly as she watched him. There was real panic in his voice now, a strange shimmer behind his glasses. "You would wake her if you could." She moved forward slowly, her own panic faded as she watched Jeremie gently lifted Aelita's head to place a pillow under it.

"No. She looks peaceful."

"Pardon?"

Yumi looked sharply over at him, but his eyes were trained on Aelita's still face. "Only one evening ago, were not our positions reversed?" He sighed, a sad smile playing on his face. "I was the one who was helpless, and she was the healer. Only..." he chuckled softly, shaking his head. "I am the helpless one, still."

"What?"

Jeremie blinked, and looked over at Yumi. Realizing what he must have been saying out-loud, he blushed a little and shook his head. "I am sorry. I made little sense. I...let me help you to do what we can for her, please, Miss-"

"It's Yumi." Dark eyes still wary, Yumi smiled slightly. "You're strange, Professor Belpois, even for an Englishman." And still untrustworthy, hissed a little voice in the back of her head. Memory flashed back, and she forced herself to the ask the question that had haunted her since they returned to this building. "That man, the one you were talking to earlier. Who was he?"

Jeremie blinked at her. "Man? Oh!" As if recalling ancient memories, he shook his head slowly. "Um...Professor Henabel. He taught me at University, and sent the letter that got me the job here." He smiled wryly. "I never thought I'd see him again, especially not in a city like this."

"He is not from London?"

Jeremie snorted. "Hardly, Miss Yumi. Before today, I-"

"Enough." Yumi stood suddenly, shaking her head.

He was lying. Or had she been wrong? Forcing the questions out of her head, she looked down at the young man, still kneeling by Aelita's side.

"If you wish to help me revive her, come with me." Jeremie blinked, then nodded, standing and wincing slightly. Yumi turned, hiding her face from his view. Glancing out the window, she thought she saw the silhouette of someone standing under the streetlight down on the road. She blinked, and the figure vanished. A chill went down her spine.

"Time is moving too fast."


	15. Chapter 15

His head hurt.

Oddric propped his chin on one fist as he scowled at the thin metals bars of the small cell he had been thrown into. Small murmurs from the officers in the desk a few feet away tickled his ears, keeping him awake as they had for the past hours since he had brought there. Not like he'd be able to sleep anyway.

"Della Robbera?"

Raising one eyebrow, Odd slide a glance over at the bulky man who leaned against the outside of the cell. "Don't know the fellow." The man snorted and hit the metal bars lightly with the end of his club. The sound made the others in the room jolt slightly, but Odd ignore them, closing his eyes.

"Wake up, lout." Under the brim of his cap, the policeman sneered at Odd. "You dun want to be asleep when the warden comes. He's got questions for you."

Raising an eyebrow, Odd simply crossed his legs and rested his head on the back of his hands. "I got questions for him," he replied calmly. "We'll help each other, I think, since none of us will give each other answers."

As if in answer, the door to the room swung open, along with a rush of cold air. The guard- and all the other officers- in the room, straightened up instantly. Solid footsteps echoed in the silence as the door squeaked shut.

"Sir, what h-happened to your..." One of the policemen by the door spoke up nervously, but he trailed off into silence. Peering out of the corner of his eye, Odd saw the tall figure of a man dressed in black stride away from the front desk. Keys jingled in time with his footsteps. The man paused and turned, as if glancing around. Eyes half closed, Odd couldn't see his face.

"You take care of that one and that. Send me the thief."

The man's voice was barely above a whisper, yet the order sent the other men scurrying about.

"B-but Warden, sir, petty thievery charges aren't supposed to be taken out of the-"

The door to Odd's cell slid open, the clanging sound it made finally jolting Odd to sitting up straight. Looking up at the man who walked into his cell, he raised an eyebrow. No wonder the men had scurried into action. The man's face was a map of every unlucky fight he had ever been in. His left was scarred by a single cut, the wound swelling that eye shut slightly. "Evening, govena'," he drawled, folding his hands together in front of him.

The warden simply held up one hand, holding the key to his cell. "Follow me, thief." When Odd simply sighed, the man's colorless eyes flashed and the key vanished. "Now."

"Move it, ya slimy git!" snapped a guard, coming around the warden to poke Odd with his club. "You've got questions to answer."

Odd smiled slowly, his purple eyes narrowed. "I'm not the only one." He looked up at the Warden and slowly stood. "A petty thief charge questioned by the head fellow himself?"

"Shut it!" Snapped the same guard, poking Odd harder. "Get goin'!"

"Do I look like a puppet to you?" Odd asked wryly, then grabbed the end of the man's club when he tried to jab at him again. Surprised, the guard let go, and found himself threatened with his own weapon. Infuriated, the man's face slowly turned red, and he took a step towards Odd.

"Bloody hell, you-"

"Calm down, Mr. Poilakoff." The Warden's craggy face twisted in a poor impression of a polite smile, aimed at Odd. "The questions, will be answered, of course." Odd smiled wryly, then dropped the guard's club at his feet.

He followed the Warden out of the main office and holding area of the police station, and down a long narrow hallway only lit from weak sunlight filtering through the windows. No one spoke, and even their footsteps seemed to muffled in the stillness around them.

"I believe you are aquatinted with the...baser level's in this society, Mr. Della Robbera?"

"If you're asking if I stole something, the answer is no."

"Ah." The Warden opened a door on the right and stood back. "That is remains to be seen."

"Does it?" Speaking in the same off-hand, polite tones as his imprisoner, Odd stepped forward. Glancing around, the room he was now in seemed to be a small, cramped space with only a single lantern, lit against the wall. The windows seemed to have disappeared from this area entirely. One small table and two chairs on either side of it were the only other things that adorned the room.

Odd's lips tightened and he tried to ignore the first flip of real fear that backed up in his throat. Hearing the door shut behind him, he thudding into one of the chairs. Glancing at the Warden, who moving slowly toward the table, Odd shrugged, and rested his feet onto the table, as if relaxed. The Warden's eyes narrowed and his lip curled. Odd grinned, and the slice of fear backed down.

"So, sir. What was it about me being a thief?" He guestered as the other man sat down opposite him, leaning away from Odd's resting feet on the table. "Proof?"

"Hardly." The Warden leaned his head back a little farther, his nose twitching. "Your thievery...may have been unintentional. In fact..." he reached out and dropped a small bag on the table between them. The sound of clinging coins echoed in the small chamber, and Odd raised his eyebrows. "You may be able to help me, if I simply set this foolish thief business to rest."

"Help you?" Odd crossed his arms. "How?"

The man inspected one hand, still gloved in black. "Tell me, Della-Robbera. Your family is from France, yes?"

Odd stared. "What does that have to do with anything?" He pulled his feet down off the table, leaning back. "And why-"

"You are related to one Franz Hopper, yes? Or perhaps the name he used when you knew him was Shaffer." The shock must have registered on Odd's face, because the man frowned. "You are, yes?"

"Why do you ask, sir?" Fisting one hand in the pocket of his coat, Odd pushed down the panic that now threatened to surface, and the confusion that came with it. "Neither of those names sound French to me."

"The man I mention is a thief, by many names. He...is in possession of something, something that that the rightful owners which to claim." The Warden shrugged. "You can not tell me you know nothing of this criminal, when you live with his daughter."

Odd almost shot out of his seat, but instead simply grabbed the arms of the chair. "I..." Be careful. The hairs on the back of his neck went up. THere was something very wrong here. "Sir, I live with my cousin, but she is not related to anyone by either of those names." Aelita. He knew her father had gone by Shaffer once, before Aelita was born. But...what did...

"Does she not? Her father must be your uncle-"

"Uncle...Uncle Waldo died months ago," Odd said softly, shaking his head. At least that was true.

"Waldo?" The Warden's eyebrows raised, yet the tone of his voice did not change. It was impossible to tell whether he believed Odd or not.

"Yes. I...didn't know him very well," Odd lied quickly, suddenly thankful that he had remembered his madman uncle's family nickname in time. His eyes narrowed. What had his blasted uncle done now to confuse his daughter's life?

"I see." The Warden folded his hands. "So...the thief in question has stolen in a very important device." He nodded his head slowly. "If your family is no relation, perhaps, at least you've heard of it. You have some interesting friends, yes?"

"There's interesting people all over London, sir," Odd said dryly. "You should know I'm hardly the only one." He slid a sly grin over his face. "Although perhaps some of the female variety may find me more interesting than most."

Seeing the distasteful expression now on the Warden's face, Odd breathed a silent sigh of relief. Play the idiot, he told himself firmly, forcing his hands to relax on the chair. You're good at that.

"The device you may have heard of...but it'd be little more than an oddly shaped clock to your eyes. The Virtual Timepiece. Heard of it?"

Shock blasted down his spine. "What?!" Trying not to gulp, he sneered. "Mr. Warden, we're men of the world. Don't got time to believe in madmen's stories." He hesitated, then leaned forward. "These rightful owners, sir. Perhaps it'd be more interesting if I knew I was...helping with this fairytale."

The Warden eyed him, and Odd could feel the sweat bead under his hair. "Never you mind. You're an outsider in this," he snapped softly, and shook his head. "As for the object itself, it's existence tells very dangerous story, even if that is all it is. If you hear of it...or have a relapse in memory of your family." He reached forward and pushed the bag of money towards Odd. "This should help you remember where the information could come to."

"And my freedom?"

The Warden's eyes narrowed. "Yes. You should be free to go. I have already talked to the officers."

"So you captured me, dragged me here and put me a cell for half the night, to ask me about a myth." Odd snorted and stood slowly. "Interesting."

The Warden simply shook his head, not moving. "It maybe interesting, if you find the answers to the questions I ask of you, Della Robbera."

Odd didn't reply, half expected the man to try and stop when he walked out the door. Instead, he found himself alone in the empty hallway.

"Funny," he muttered, his fists clenching. "I think I have more questions than I did before." His eyes narrowed. "Time to get some bloody answers."


	16. Chapter 16

The sun rose slowly over London, barely visible in the fog and mist that lingered at the edges of the city.

Hissing softly in annoyance when his leg muscles continued to pull, Oddric made the slow walk home from the police station to his destination. Despite his exhaustion, he kept his eyes wide and wary. It was no accident that they had put the station in one of the more industrial areas of the city. Even though he couldn't see any other people on the street, he saw the eyes glinting at him through the tiny ground level windows. He smiled humorlessly and continued, shivering slightly as a breeze kicked up. Soon, he knew, people would be pouring from those factories, from the business and houses, starting off another day, or going home after a long evening of honest work.

Odd sighed. Hopefully this mixup wouldn't end the only honest work he had at the moment. He glanced up, and saw the sun barely touch the tower of Kadic Academy in the distance. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he sped up. Aelita would be getting up for work soon.

His cousin liked giving tests. Now it was bloody time for her to take one.

"Somebody! Somebody help!"

A yelp cracked the morning silence, and Odd jerked to a halt. Someone was sobbing, and a figure raced out the door to one of the smaller buildings. "My sister! My sister! She's-"

"Shut that up!"

The sound of running feet echoed down the street and Odd quickly ducked into the shadows. A small crowd of people started filing out of a few of the buildings, muttering. Some moved to comfort the woman who had screamed first. She was now kneeling on the ground, shaking her head. Her high mutterings echoed down the street under the growing commotion. Odd took a step forward, his eyes narrowed.

"Another blasted disappearance! What the-"

"Shut up, the bottles will-"

"I don't care, the bloody coppers haven't done anything about it. How many people have to disappear?! Five, ten people, and they don't care, it's-"

"Won't someone shut her up?!"

Someone let out a yell, and a whistle pierced the cold morning air. "Keep it down! Get back to your houses!"

A small group of men in dark uniforms were hurrying around the corner, towards the growing crowd of workers. One of the new men grabbed the sobbing woman, shouting orders.

Odd didn't think about, didn't stop. Fury shot up his spine and he leapt forward.

"Let her go!"

Ignoring the shouts of others around him, he pulled the uniformed man off of the grieving woman, yanking hard enough to send both of them staggering back.

"Get your filthy hands off of her, you-"

"Odd?!"

Someone grabbed Odd's arm and pulled him back. High on adrenaline, he spun around, an angry hiss spitting from him like a snake.

His fist froze an inch from Ulrich Stern's face.

"Ulri...the bloody hell?!" Shocked, Odd took a step back and stared. "What-"

Ulrich shook his head, glancing over to something Odd couldn't see. "We need to get out of here. Come on!"

"But-"

"Move it, Della-Robera!"

In the chaos of the growing riot, the two of them were able to slip around the corner. Ulrich kept glancing behind him, the dark uniform he wore helping to blend in with the shadows. He could hear Odd cursing under his breath, and slowed down a little.

"We should get a carriage, they might find us if we're walking."

"Who?!" Odd shook his head, trying with all his might to keep his voice down. The anger from the fight had calmed down, but adrenaline still buzzed in the back of his head, and he twitched slightly. "Who might find us? What the bloody hell was that about? And how'd you get to be a damn copper already, Stern? You just got back two days ago!"

Ulrich's good eye narrowed, and he shrugged. "I got enlisted by my superior. And I'm not a policeman. And-" He caught off, and raised an eyebrow. "And why the hell are taking my skin off?! You should talk, did you start that fight?"

"No." Odd shoved his hands in his pockets, angry again. "I'm trying to get home."

"Home? You mean to your cousin's house." Ulrich smiled wryly. When Odd's eyes flashed and his expression went sullen, his eyebrows shot up. "You're sulking', ol' mate. She kick you out?"

"No. But..." His mind flashed back to his sleepless visit in the police station. "But we're going to have discussion." He shrugged, and forced the tension in his spine to back down. His gaze slid back to his friend. "You want to come with me? Aelita's friend Yumi's probably still there." To Odd's surprise and great interest, Ulrich went red, then his expression went mutinous.

"She's a stranger, what would that do?"

"Uh huh." Odd smiled slightly, shaking his head. "I see."

"Shut it, Animal. I-I'd rather not talk about it."

Not a stranger after all, Odd thought, smirking, but didn't say it out loud. "Let's find that carriage, before we both get blinded by the bloody sun."

1010101010010101

It was morning already?

Aelita's eyes slid open, and she sat up with a gasp. "Oh no, the scho- ow!" She winced and clapped a hand to her temple, shutting her eyes against the pins and needles dancing in her head. "Why..." She blinked, opening her eyes slowly again. Why was she laying on her own couch instead of her bed...and why were there cots on the floor again? Confused, she took a breath and slowly turned her head to look around.

"Miss Aelita?"

Aelita jumped, then yelped when the sharp headache came back to full force. She heard Yumi shuffle forward, and made her eyes open again.

"Yumi. What...what happened? What's going on?"

Yumi shook her head. "You were tired," she explained softly, not looking at Aelita as she started folding up one of cots. Aelita noticed that the other cot still seemed to be occupied. She raised an eyebrow.

"Tired enough to be watched over? And who's our visiter?"

Yumi glanced to the side, and smiled wryly. "It seems this house is becoming an inn," she remarked, shaking her head. "Now, if only-" She paused, frowning. Now Aelita heard what had caught the other girl's attention: a soft muttering and footsteps coming from outside. Yumi sighed and went to the window. "More visitors? At this hour? Why...oh no." Aelita watched, curious as Yumi's face paled slightly. "Not that. Kuso," she added, cursing under her breath in Japanese. "Not him."

"Him who?" Now Aelita's mind was whirling slightly instead of in pain. "Yumi, stop moving, please, you're usually so good at making sense-"

Yumi paused, glancing over at her friend. "Aelita, apparently your cousin-" Anything she was about to say after that was cut off by a loud knock on the door. Yumi cursed again, much to Aelita's surprise, and she watched, utterly confused, as the older girl turned and went down the stairs, her face set as if she was going to the gallows.

Just then, the shape in the second cot moved, and sat up slowly. Aelita's eyes widened.

"Mr. Belpois?!"

Jeremie, his face flushed with sleep and imprinted with the pattern of the blanket that he had been laying on, glancing around slowly. He squinted, obviously trying to figure out where he was without the help of his glasses. "Pardon me...I probably woke someone up..." he yawned, then stopped halfway, his blue eyes shooting open wide.

"Miss Stones?!" His face went bright pink and, whirling around to try to look at her, he fell right out of the cot. "I...I..."

Risking another headache, Aelita slide off the couch, moving towards him. "Your glasses," she reminded him, then saw the small blue spectacles laying on the table behind them. She handed them to him, and Jeremie smiled sleepily at her in thanks. A strange feeling that nothing to do with being dizzy melted into her chest at the warmth in that smile, and Aelita smiled in return before she could stop herself.

"I don't suppose you know what's going on, sir?" She asked, back up a little. When had she edged so close to the man? Jeremie blinked at her, then blushed a little again.

"It's a b-blessing to see you're alright, M-miss Aelita," he stammered, moving back to the safety of the stable cot. Aelita raised an eyebrow, and he blinked, obviously trying to remember. "Oh...yesterday...you fell ill, after Odd was taken away..."

"What?! Odd was what?!"

A laugh bubbled up from behind her, and Aelita spun. Next to her, Jeremie stood up, his expression relieved and surprised. "Mr. Della Robbera! Thank goodness, what happened? They let you off, I see-"

Aelita's eyes narrowed as her cousin rounded the corner. "Oddric? What happened? Who took you away, and for what? And-" Her eyes lit on the man behind him, and she stood slowly. "Ulrich! Well, fancy seeing you again so quickly." She moved forward, folding her arms. "Now, cousin, what happened? Did you get into trouble?"

"Oh yes, Princess," Odd said slowly, and Aelita frowned. There was no joking laugher in his purple eyes now, she noticed. Behind the mocking grin, her cousin was furious. "I got into a load of trouble. Apparently we're related to a thief."

Aelita stared at him. "Excuse me?"

Odd nodded at her shock. "Dear old Uncle Frank and that bloody research of his. Did you know he stole something?"

The insult shot up her spine like a firework. "How dare you imply that my father-"

"I'm not the one who implied it, Aelita," Odd snapped back, shaking his head. "I've been up all night in a bloody prison cell because some blasted fancy researchers bought out the warden enough to catch any relatives of your damned father as thieves in some bloody clockwork thing he's stolen!"

"Oddric!" Yumi strode forward, totally ignoring Ulrich, who like Jeremie, was watching the family feud with widened eyes. "Aelita's father is your family too, and how do you know-"

"No, Yumi. It's alright."

Any anger that had been in Aelita moments ago drained out of her and she took a step back. "They're...what did you say they were looking for?"

Obviously surprised by her reaction, Odd took a step towards her. "Some odd clock. They said he-"

"A clock?" Jeremie tilted his head to one side. "What kind of clock?"

Aelita's voice sounded hollow now, even to her own ears. "He didn't steal it." The shock was in her voice now, shaking as hard as her hands were. "My father...he didn't steal anything. But if they found out that you're...oh no..."

"Miss Aelita, please, are you in trouble?" Without thinking, Jeremie went to her side, gingerly touching her shoulder. "Can I help you? Please, if there's-" Aelita shook her head, the pink strands falling into her eyes.

"No, there's no help. I should...should have known this might happen. It wasn't safe enough."

"Safe enough?" Ulrich's eyes narrowed. "Aelita, if there's someone after you, tell us." For a moment, his eyes slide over to Yumi, who was watching her friend intently. "You need protection?"

"Thank you, thank you all, but no." She was shivering now. "You...you have to forget you saw this, heard this conversion."

"Like hell," Odd snapped softly, then froze when his cousin raised her head to look at him.

"Odd...you have to get out of here. If they find out..."

"Who is 'they'?! And what's so important about a bloody clock?!"

Aelita looked over at Jeremie for a moment, who was watching her silently, his neon blue eyes intense. Her heart clenched in fear and something else she couldn't name, and she sighed. Time is running out.

"It's not just any clock, Ulrich. It's a death sentence, and it's...it's mine, through inheritance. The Virtual Timepiece. My father is the original creator of the Virtual Timepiece."


	17. Chapter 17

Silence whipped through the room like a thunder crack, as four pairs of eyes turned to the pink haired woman with her head in her hands.

"The Virtual Timepiece exists?!" Jeremie sat down hard on the cot, his eyes wide behind his glasses. "How... How is that possible?"

Odd's eyes narrowed. "Possible?!" he snapped softly, his gaze going from Aelita, to Jeremie and back again. "What the bloody hell is the damned thing anyway?!"

"I don't know what it is." Aelita raised her head slowly, but she didn't look up. "It...My f-father never left enough information to answer that question clearly. I have some theories, but..."

While Odd scowled at the mention of Aelita's father, Yumi shouldered past him and put a hand on Aelita's shoulder. "Aelita, you said it was a death sentence, this...timepiece thing. What did you mean?"

The pink haired girl finally looked up, her eyes dark and frightened. A chill went down Jeremie's spine at the expression on her face.

"The timepiece is a death sentence, Yumi. If it falls in the wrong hands when it runs out of time, it would react essentially like a bomb."

BANG!

A thunderous knocking blasted from the front of the house. Aelita gasped, shooting to her feet. Yumi and Ulrich both took a step towards the window, while Jeremie moved towards Aelita and Odd stepped further away from his cousin.

"Open this door! This is the police!"

Odd leaped toward the window, then cursed loudly. "It's the same officers from before! How did they find it here so quick?" Yumi whirled and grabbed the boy's arm.

"And what exactly did you tell them, Oddric?" Her voice was so quiet it was barely audible, yet the sudden fury pulsed from like a light. "You lead them right-"

"No, he didn't. I might have, let him go, Yumi!" Ulrich moved to his friends side, not even glancing out the window. Yumi whirled on him, her eyes flashing.

"You?! How dare you try to-"

"Stop it!"

The three of them fell silent, and turned to look back at Aelita. She was still on her feet, although she had gone deathly pale. Jeremie had gone to her side, and was glancing about wildly as if expect bullets to come flying at their heads.

"Arguing will not help. They can't come in here. You said they were looking for me, yes? I will go-"

"No, you won't, Aelita." Ulrich shook his head, ignoring the glare Yumi sent him. "If Odd is right-"

Odd blinked then scowled at his old friend. "If?!"

Ulrich ignored him and continued. "If he's right, then this is far more than just hauling you in for questioning." His eyes narrowed. "There's something very wrong going on with the authorities around here."

Another thud against the door and more yelling echoed from out front, and the five of them looked at each other. The door downstairs squeaked, as if the hinges were slowly breaking.

"But...there's something here I-"

"Aelita, you must be out of here, now," Yumi said softly, and grabbed her friends arm. "We can go out the window in the-"

"No!" Aelita retched her arm away. She was shaking violently now, backing away from all of them. "I have to protect it..I can't leave it here."

"Leave what here?!"

"The Timepiece."

The statement, spoken quietly, had them all looking over at Jeremie, who had gone just as pale as Aelita. He looked at her, his gaze intense it was like he was trying to see through her. "The Timepiece itself is here, isn't it?"

Aelita nodded, then shut her eyes tight. "I...it can't...I don't have time to explain!" Her eyes flew open. "You all..."

"Where is it?" Odd stepped in front of his cousin. "Look, Princess, let me get it. You escape, there must be somewhat that you can get out of here."

Aelita stared up at him. "No, Odd, if they catch you, they'll know you, they'll-"

Odd grinned slowly, his purple eyes narrowing. "Who said they'd catch me, cousin? I'm not called Animal for my flirting style."

"You're not?" Ulrich and Yumi muttered in unison. Both of them jerked as if stunned, then glared at each other and stepped farther apart.

Aelita looked at each of them, opened her mouth, then shut it again. The bile of fear and guilt rose in her throat. "I can't ask you to do this, you could all be hurt, or killed, this is my-"

"Aelita." Jeremie's quiet voice broke through, and she turned to find him only a few steps from her. "You're not asking us, but we want to help you. This is our decision." There was no fear in his eyes, she realized suddenly. So why were they so brightly neon?

"Alright." Not looking away from him, she nodded slowly, taking a deep breath. "There's the back stairs behind the kitchen closet. You have to follow me quickly." She looked over at her cousin and reached out a hand. "Odd, it's in the stairwell closet, please...in the-"

Odd's smile turned grim. "I'll find it, Princess, and follow you as soon as I do." His eyes slide back towards the direction of the ever louder shouting and crashing at the front door. "This will be fun." With that, he turned and raced down the stairwell towards the front door.

Aelita bit her lip, then turned back and looked at the other three. "Follow me, quickly. We don't have much time."

1010101010101010010101

His heart pounding in his throat, Jeremie lost track of time as he, Yumi and Ulrich followed Aelita down the small stairway half hidden in the back of her apartment. The sound of the commotion of the policemen had faded away into silence, and all her heard was their own footsteps. They went further and further down, the light slowly fading until they were squinting to see in front of them. All he could see was the faint glint of Aelita's bright hair as she continued to step further and further down.

"How far down are we going?" Ulrich muttered after while, his voice barely above a whisper. Jeremie almost tripped- he had practically forgotten the others were behind him.

"Scared?" Snapped Yumi, although she too sounded winded.

"Quiet." Aelita paused, glancing back at them. "Please. We're almost into the tunnels." She glanced up towards where they had come and took a breath. Despite the dark, Jeremie thought he saw more fear flicker across her face. He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Oddric will be fine, Miss," he whispered, and Aelita winced slightly, as if he had surprised her. Jeremie hesitated, then smiled gently at her. "He's been more than a few fights himself, I'd gather. He'll know what to do to get back here with the Ti-" Aelita quickly put a finger to her lips and Jeremie cut off. Without a word, she turned back around and continued down.

Jeremie shivered. The air was getting colder and colder the further down they went. How far down where they going anyway? Just when he was walking blind, his breath coming in short puffs, Aelita suddenly stopped dead in front of him.

"W..where are we?" He whispered, forgetting that they supposed to be quiet. He could barely see anything now, only feel the cold brick wall inches from his fingers and a cold breeze in his face.

"Miss Aelita?" Yumi spoke up softly, and Jeremie thought he heard either her or Ulrich shift nervously on the cold floor. The next moment, however, a tiny pink spark flashed in the darkness. A quiet whoosh of sound echoed in front of them.

Jeremie frowned- then gasped.

A soft greenish blue light flickered from in front of them. It raced forward, lighting up a hallway till it vanished into the distance.

Aelita took her hand from the wall, and turned to look back at the others, and her green eyes seemed to flicker like the strange lights that now lit the way before them.

"If you wish to turn back, now would be the time. It's a long way to safety." Her eyes flicked towards the stairs behind them.

"What...Aelita, where is the safety?" Ulrich asked, his good eye wide as he looked around.

Aelita's eyes narrowed and she sighed. "My father's work area and laboratory. It's only the place that's safe. I hope."

"The l-laboratory?!" Jeremie stared at her. "Where he...build the...where he did his research?"

Aelita shook her head, and turned away from them. "No. But it is where he was murdered."


	18. Chapter 18

Purple eyes narrowed as Odd crouched, sneaking down the front stairwell. The policemen outside were shouting, although they had stopped banging on the door for the moment. As he edged closer, making sure that he would be hidden from the front window next to the door, he thought he could hear some of the orders being yelled.

"-told us to knock the door in, take the girl and go!"

"No, the Warden said we were to change targets! We're supposed to look for some bloke who works at the Pauper University, sir." As he reached the bottom step, Odd bristled slightly at the rude nickname for Kadic, but kept silent.

"Shut it, my orders come from above the Warden. We go."

Odd cursed under his breath, and slipped around the corner to the small hallway next to the stairs. His heart pounding in his ears, his gaze darted back and forth. Which door at Aelita said the...this blasted clock thing was behind?

Someone yelled from outside again, and suddenly the pounding on the front door began anew. Dread crept up his neck, but he ignored it. He didn't have time to hesitate. Something moved, flashed grey, out of the corner of his eye. Odd leapt forward, then stared for a moment at the door he found himself in front of. Had it been ajar a second ago?

Another deafening bang brought his attention back to his task, and he slipped inside the room.

It was pitch black, but Odd stepped towards the back of the room, the door sliding closed behind him. The sound of the policemen trying to get in faded to a barely audible series of thuds. After a second, he realized he could see the outlines of shelves, climbing high above his head.

Some closet, he thought wryly, and glanced about. After a second, his eyes lit on a small lump in the back corner, leaning half in shadow against the wall. He inched closer and reached out to grab the thing

A strange shiver went down his spine and for a second he drew his hand back, glancing behind him. It was only a tiny closet, he told himself firmly. What on earth could be watching him? He looked back, and quickly grabbed the bag off the shelf.

It was small, barely bigger than his hand. He raised one eyebrow. This small thing was what all the fuss was about? He rolled his eyes, and quickly snuck back to the front of the room. Pressing his ear to the door, he listened. He could hear talking, but it sounded as if the door had once again been left alone. Take a deep breath, he nudged the door, and it slipped back open again.

"There's no one?!"

A harsh voice snapped through the air, and heavy footsteps echoed from above. Odd froze in horror, and slide halfway back through the door. Glancing to his right, he gasped, then cursed. The front door was open, half off it's hinges. The front window was cracked, a tiny piece of it missing. An eerie whistling sound came from the crack, barely audible over the thuds of the policemen upstairs.

Odd glanced back towards the second floor and put a hand on the small bag he had stuffed into his coat pocket. Another shiver went over his skin, and he snatch his hand away. It was too small to be something so destructive, and yet just carrying thing made him uncomfortable.

You're just being stupid, he told himself firmly, and pushed the feeling of being watched out of his head. He knew he had to get back to Aelita and the others without being seen, but how...

Just then, the sound of the footsteps faded off, as if the men were searching the attic rooms.

Go.

Had it been his own thoughts that told him to move? A voice in his head whispered the order, and before he couldn't think twice, Odd leapt forward, vaulting over the stairs railing and racing as silently as he could up the steps to the second floor.

As he had guessed, no one was in the room, although he could hear someone still barking off orders in the next room. Just as he was able to back up into the kitchen, near to where he had seen the others disappear, footsteps moved back toward him.

His heart in his throat, Odd dove behind a cupboard as three men stepped back out into the main room.

"Sir! We have searched each of the rooms and no signs of the girl or anyone else."

"Have you now?" The sound of a soft steady thudding along with the footsteps was heard, then paused.

A cane? Odd frowned, trying to see the reflection of the men in the window next to him.

Suddenly, a loud slap split the air, and some hissed in pain or surprise. "Fools! If you had moved quicker and done as I told you-"

"But sir-" A new voice spoke up, angrier than the first. "We aren't follow the Warden's orders sir, he told us to move to the new target!"

For a moment, there was silence. Then, softly, Odd heard a gulping sound, as if someone was running out of breath, only to be followed by a heavy thud a few second later. Curiosity took over, and he leaned out slightly-

To come face to face with the dead, staring eyes of a policeman. Even though there was no blood that could be seen, the dead man's face seemed to be expanded somehow. Unable to close his eyes from the horror, it seemed to Odd that even the man's pores in his skin and his tiny pupils had grown in size.

A strangled whine fought it's way through his gritted teeth and Odd bit his lip hard to keep the sound from escaping. Blood weld up in his skin, but he ignored it, keeping stock still.

"It seems that we're missing someone else, am I right?"

The same man spoke from before, and Odd heard the strange three-step walking that he had heard before.

"Am I right?" There was a hint of fury behind the gentle words now. Odd shuddered and tried to move farther back from the corpse only a few feet from him.

"Y-yes S-sir...uh...w-we were supposed to h-have one more, but...he...um...did not show up for the s-search party after the factory r-riot this morning..."

"Interesting."

Someone shifted, and the footsteps of the remaining officer and the man with the cane faded slightly, as if they were about to go down the stairs. Odd's heart lifted in hope.

"B-but...sir...what about...Officer Br-" the policeman cut off quickly, his voice so full of fear it squeaked. Odd heard the sound of the man with the cane walking closer. Terror blazed up his spine and he tried to back up as silently as he could, feeling behind him for the half-hidden back door he knew was there.

"You have a point, Officer. If our lovely little target comes back, she would not like such an...unexpected visitor." Someone snapped their fingers. "Pull it out, now, please. We have lost time already, and I am needed else where."

"Y-ye-es sir."

"Good. It's such obedience that the Warden should prize, instead of harboring the insolence that your comrade enjoyed. Dispose of it and-" The man trailed off and someone started moving towards Odd's corner of the room.

"S-sir?"

"I smell something. It seems we have a rat."

Fear hit Odd in the chest, and for a split second, he couldn't move. Then the body of the police officer started moving back, away from him.

"Hurry up, officer. I have a tight schedule, and the Warden will not be please with your comrades failure at finding the target."

"Bu-but...he said to..."

"What was that?"

"N-nevermind, sir."

The two men's footsteps faded slightly, although the impact still echoed around the empty house. Odd fought back a shivered and carefully began nudging open the door behind him. It was half hidden by the kitchen counters and pans, but he knew that one wrong move could make it all too visible. Halfway through the tiny opening he made, one of the sets of footsteps paused.

"Hm. Do we have a rat after all? Or peeping spy?"

Panic hit Odd in the chest and he slipped through the rest of the way.

Crouched in the darkness of the stairway, he thought he saw a tall man in a dark long coat pause. The sound of sniffing hit his ears, and Odd froze. Could the man smell him, for hell's sake? The three legged stride of the cane user echoed as the shadowy figure turned and moved away.

Odd touched a single shaking hand to the bag stuffed into his pocket, then turned and hurried down into the darkness.


	19. Chapter 19

"- we have been the authors of those articles on the timepiece for a number of years. My father mostly, but I took over after he...he left."

In the strange half-light in the tunnel, Jeremie looked at Aelita, trying to see her expression. "Left? Did you say he was..." He cut off instantly, realizing what he was saying. "I am sorry, that was-"

Aelita shook her head slowly, then smiled humorlessly. "Honestly, I don't know how he died." She took a slow breath, closing her eyes.

You can't cry now, fool, she told herself firmly. Grow up.

"So why did you say he was murdered?" Jerking a bit in surprise, she looked back at Yumi and Ulrich. She had almost forgotten that they were there. Guilt pulled at her heart, seeing Yumi avoided her gaze slightly. She pushed the guilt off and looked at Ulrich, who had asked the question.

"It's a long story," she said after a second, and shrugged.

"But was he mur-"

"Can't you see it pains her to speak of it, baka?!" Yumi snapped quietly, and Ulrich cut off. Aelita looked back at her again, a million ways of apologizing and excuses running through her head. But still, Yumi refused to meet her gaze, and Aelita turned back around, and said nothing. The silence stretched for moments, and the only thing to hear was their footsteps and a soft steady drip of water somewhere along the tunnel.

Quite suddenly, Aelita stopped. The other three almost ran headlong into her.

"What's wrong?" Ulrich's good eye narrowed. "Did you hear something?"

Aelita glanced back, past him, in the way they had come. "No...I just...Oddric hasn't been back yet."

Jeremie also looked behind them. "Does he know the way?"

Biting her lip, Aelita started to shake her head. "It's only one tunnel, all the other branches off are closed or collapsed." She took a hesitant step back the way they came, and winced when cold water splashed into her shoe. "Blast... the dress..."

Jeremie followed her gaze, then looked over at her again. And his eyes went wide. "M-miss Aelita?!"

Half way through pulling up her underskirt above the shallow puddles, Aelita looked over at him in surprise. "You heard something?"

For once he was grateful for the dim lighting. Jeremie shook his head, trying to look away as Aelita fastened the heavy skirts mid thigh length with a small string on either side of her waist. She wore grey stockings underneath, and the glint of the knife she wore in her boot was now visible.

"Most improper," Ulrich quipped, mock-insulted, and Aelita looked back at him, smiling for what seemed the first time in years.

"I'd like to see you try walking through puddles weighted down and tripped up by these things, Master Stern," she retorted. "They only function as an illusion for you males anyway."

"How enlightening," Jeremie muttered, trying to look anywhere but at the appealing and strange picture she made.

"Can we continue, please?" Yumi said softly, glancing behind her.

"You know, Yumi-san, you could feel free to-"

"I'm not lifting anything around the likes of you any day," Yumi replied before Ulrich finished the suggestion. Aelita sniggered as Yumi stuck her nose in the air and Ulrich shrugged.

"What was that?!"

Jeremie blinked and looked around. "What was what?" He looked over at Aelita, who was no longer smiling.

"I thought..." She glanced behind her again, the lights in the tunnel giving her eyes an inhuman glow. The other three stopped, glancing around.

Then Jeremie did hear something, a soft thudding, coming far behind them. It was unsteady and growing louder by the moment.

"I'll go look!" Ulrich leapt forward, and was halfway down the passage quicker than they had time to blink.

"Ulrich, stop-" Aelita reached out a hand, her eyes wide in panic. "Blast. Why does he have to be so fast?!" She took a step back, dread growing with the sounds coming towards them.

"Miss Aelita." Jeremie grabbed her arm and she jumped, staring at him. "We have to hide you, if it's one of the police men after you-"

"There's no place TO hide, Professor," Yumi snapped softly, glancing back and forth between Jeremie and Aelita and the way Ulrich had gone. "Do you see a door?"

"Hush!" Aelita ignored them both and started to move down the tunnel, where Ulrich had gone.

"Aelita!" Before he could stop himself, Jeremie pulled her back. Together, they stumbled backward, hitting the wall of the tunnel.

Aelita gasped and tried to push him away. "What on earth are you doing, Belpois?!"

"Protecting you!"

"I don't need your protection, you idiot, you'll get yourself hurt!"

Jeremie looked back at her, and for a moment their faces were mere inches apart. His eyes, even the badly lit tunnel, seemed to glow.

"You are the one they are after, Miss Aelita," he said doggedly. "Trying to shove me back to protect me instead will only help them win."

Shock stole the breath from her lungs and the retort died on her lips. For a moment, neither of them moved. He barely touched her, yet she could barely breath.

What was this? She expect fear to come, but the only thing she felt was a strange curiosity. What was this?

"Aelita!"

Yumi shouted suddenly, and the strange feeling vanished. Jeremie jumped back as if slapped, and his pale face flushed.

"I..."

"Aelita! Belpois!"

Aelita spun, facing the direction of the yell. "Ulrich?" She could now see a misshapen figure coming their way. Fearful, she took a step back, the frowned. Wait...was that?

"Oddric!" Gasping, she raced forward. Sure enough, there was her cousin leaned against Ulrich's right shoulder. "What happened?! Is he bleeding?" Closing the distance, she saw that Odd's eyes were closed, but there were no tell-tale scarlet drips or rips anywhere on his clothing.

"He must have just made it down the stairs when you started hearing him, Aelita," Ulrich said softly, moving as if his friend's weight was practically nothing. Aelita stared at him.

"That's almost a mile back, how'd you get to him so fast?!" Jeremie asked, and Ulrich blinked, then shrugged.

"That's not important," Aelita said, shaking her head. "He doesn't look wounded, but-"

Ulrich was lowering the young man to the ground. "He's shaking, Aelita. I don't know what happened, but I think he's in shock."

"Shock?" Yumi stepped forward, frowning. "Meaning?"

Ulrich glanced at her, then back at Aelita. "He saw something traumatic, and his body is shutting down in response. I saw this alot when I was..." He paused, glancing at Yumi again. "Right before I left Japan for England. We need to get him somewhere warm, quickly."

"We're only a a little way from the lab, there should be something there. Can you carry him any further?"

Ulrich nodded, smiling grimly. "He'd wallop me if he could hear me, but your cousin barely weights more than you do, Princess." Aelita bit her lip, and smiled a little.

"He would wallop you," she agreed, but then the smile faded. "Let's go."

"Did he get what you sent him to-" Yumi started, then fell silent when Aelita shook her head.

"That doesn't matter now. We need to get him to safety."

10101010101010

"More...bloody stairs..." Ulrich huffed a short while later. They had reached the end of the tunnel to find another set of stairs waiting for them. Aelita squeezed back to help the solider hold up Odd's limp form.

"It's not much farther. I hope."

"You hope?!" Ulrich snorted, but it came out as a tired wheeze. "How long has it been since you've come this way, Princess?"

Aelita looked down at the steps they were climbing. She could only see the edges, thanks to the light from the tunnel below lighting the way. In the back of her head, faded memories flashed, and she sighed, wincing slightly.

"A...a very long time." Memory flashed again: her father, hurrying up the stairs, whispering the entire time to the large limp form in his arms. Aelita shivered, and pushed that out of her head. She was too old for nightmares now.

Glancing up, she blinked, then frowned. "Ulrich. Stop."

"What?"

Aelita shook her head, gently moved past him and Jeremie, and stepped up a few more stairs. Behind her, the other three squinted into the darkness.

"Did you hear something again?" Jeremie asked nervously, and for a fearful moment, there was no answer. Had she been captured?

"No." Her voice sounded muffled, and rather high above them, but it was there all the same. "But I do believe I have found our door out of here."

Jeremie sighed in relief, and helped Ulrich lift Odd's limp form the rest of the way up the steps, Yumi following only a few stairs behind them.

Jeremie thought he saw a soft flash of light. He blinked, cursing his bad eyesight, and looked again. Had it been just his imagination, that pink glow? No, wait-

A door opened slowly in front of them, and Jeremie's eyes widened.

"Welcome to my father's laboratory," Aelita murmured softly, a strange tremble in her voice.

"This isn't a laboratory," Ulrich told her, breathless from the climb and the weight of his friend. "It's...what is this?"

"A mess," Yumi muttered wryly.

She had a point, Jeremie thought, staring about the place. The room they had entered was tiny, covered in bland grey walls and books, gears, metal pipes, and papers scattered everywhere. There were strange scratches in the walls, and pieces of broken glass littered the far corner. The place smelled like it had been struck by lightening. He glanced over at Aelita, who was still standing by the door, and frowned.

"Miss..." HIs voice failed when she looked up at him. Had her face been so pale before? She almost seemed ghostly now, her green eyes shimmering like beacons. A moment later, she looked away, and went to help Ulrich set up a place to lay Odd down.

"I wonder what knocked him out," Ulrich was saying softly, and stretched. "Last I knew, he wasn't so easy to-"

"You were gone quite a while," Yumi murmured, acid all but dripping in her quiet tone. "People change."

Ulrich's good eye narrowed as he glanced in her direction. "You of all people should know about changing, Yumi-san," he replied. The polite ending of Yumi's name sounded more like an insult than a courtesy.

"Not now, please." Aelita held up her hands. "Ulrich, there used to be a sink outside that door on the left. Would you please see if you can find something to put some water in?"

Ulrich opened his mouth, then glanced down again at his very still friend, and went off.

"Aelita...are you sure it's safe to be here?" Yumi was also looking down at Odd, who now looked as pale in the light as his cousin. "What about your..." she bit her lip, trailing off.

"My father's...downfall had little to do with this place," Aelita replied softly, not looking up. "When I said earlier about my father being...being killed here. Honestly, there is little proof. I..." Her voice was trembling again, and Jeremie moved closer, feeling helpless.

"Can...can I do something to help?"

Aelita looked at him, but didn't meet his eyes as she smiled sadly. "Thank you, Professor. But, for now...Ah, Ulrich. Thank you." She turned to the solider, who was trying to not drop the small pot of water he carried as he moved around the mess on the floor.

"Wait a moment." Yumi went to Odd's side, and swiftly knelt down despite her heavy skirts. "He just moved."

Aelita's eyes widened and she copied her friend. Gently place a hand on Odd's face, she leaned closer. "Oddric. Odd. Cousin. Can you hear me?"

A soft cough came from the young man, and he jerked a little. Now all four of them were gathered around him, and leaning close.

"Oddric?"

Odd let out another cough, then a rusty set of curse words. "D-damn and blast, Aelita, of course I can, you're bloody shouting in my ear!"

A collective sigh of relief went through the room as Odd slowly opened his eyes. He winced, then squinted as he turned to look at them.

"Did I die? Didn't you all rack off to my funeral?"

Ulrich snorted. "If you were dead, Della-Robbera, it wouldn't look like this."

"If I were-" Suddenly, Odd cut off mid sentence, and his eyes went wide. "Dead. Aelita!" He grabbed his cousin's arm, hard, and tried to pull himself up.

"No, lay still, you dolt, you're in shock," she ordered, trying to make him let go. "What's the matter?" Despite her stern command, his sudden change panicked her. Her cousin didn't scare easily.

"No, Aelita you don't understand. I got the thing you needed. The clock."

Now Aelita's eyes went wide. "You did?! Where is it? What happened? How-"

"Aelita, listen to me." Odd's grip on her arm tightened painfully. "Please. You're in danger."

Aelita blinked at him. "Well, yes we were, but now that-"

"No, no, you are. And Professor over there." Odd jerked his head towards Jeremie. "There was a man...a man with the officers that searched the flat. But..." he frowned, shook his head. Watching him, Aelita's panic grew.

"Odd, please, you're scaring me, what happened?"

"He wants this thing, what ever it is. But..."Odd's voice faded for a moment, and he swallowed hard. "He...I know you'll think I sound mad, but there's something wrong with him-"

"Oh, come on now, Odd," Ulrich started, glancing at Aelita. "You're doing that on purpose, takin' the mick out of her. Stop it. What actually-"

"I'm not!" Odd's voice broke halfway through the shout, and he cursed. "I'm not," he said again, shaking his head. "I wish I was. He killed a man without touching him. There was no gun, no weapon. He didn't have enough to strangle him. One minute, the fellow was yelling, then a second later, he was..." Odd stopped again, and he began shaking again. Aelita quickly tucked the end of Ulrich's dirty coat around her cousin more firmly, and then quickly stood up, moving away.

"Oddric, that's impossible," Yumi said after a second, gingerly patting the man's hand. "How could someone kill a person without a weapon or touching them?"

"Poison?" Ulrich suggested, frowning.

"No."

As one, all of them turned to look at her. Her eyes had gone wide, and her fists were clenched. "No." She cursed softly and turned away from them, covering her face in her hands. "I should've known." She whirled about again, muttering to herself. "It can't be...the Carthage Project died out...my father..."

"Carthage Project?" Jeremie stood quickly, moving to her. "Aelita, what-"

Suddenly, Aelita let out a short scream, and jumped back. Jeremie caught her, his eyes wide and focused on what he saw glaring at their group from a corner.

A wolf.


	20. Chapter 20

Everything seemed to happen at once

Jeremie stumbled forward, trying to protect Aelita. Ulrich and Yumi stood and spun at the sound of Aelita's cry, while Odd sat up sharply, only to start coughing.

The wolf never moved.

Despite Jeremie's attempts at shielding her, Aelita moved forward. Covering her mouth as if to hide her expression, she took a few steps closer to the wolf. Suddenly, she let out a soft laugh, and shook her head.

"It's another automation," she said softly, almost to herself.

"A whatsit?" Ulrich asked from behind her, just as Odd quipped "Another automathingamawho?"

"It's been here a while," Aelita continued, either ignoring or not hearing the others. "There's...how strange..."

"A-aelita! What if it's still-" Jeremie came quickly up behind her, torn between concern and curiosity.

"It would have struck by now if it'd been active," Aelita replied, not looking back at him. "No, there's even cobwebs on the thing." Frowning slightly now, she leaned closer, brushing the dust and pebbles off. "In fact, it looks like it's been here for ages." Aelita suppressed a shiver at the feeling of the cold, dull metal of the thing and leaned closer.

"It's even more detailed than the first one," she continued, frowning slightly. "And the switch is different." She could feel the switch at the back of the fake wolf's head, and her eyes widened. "No. Not just different. It's broken." She moved to the side of it, frowning.

"Does that mean it could still attack?" Jeremie had come up behind her, and looked where she pointed.

"No, it's totally knocked out," Aelita replied, answering his question. She guestered to a massive, spider-webbing crack that branched from the switch to end near the tail. "It must have been hit with something hard."

"But how did it get there?" Yumi had also taken a few hesitant steps closer. "The one that...that tried to hurt you before...do you think the same person who did that put this one here?"

Aelita glanced up at her, and shook her head, a thoughtful look on her face. "It would be impossible to know, Yumi. We don't know who this was waiting for, who put it here." She glanced around the room. "This...this is not how I remember it the last time I was here." The room had been organized then, she thought sadly. It had seemed so huge. Her eyes lit on an upturned armchair in the far corner, and memory came floating back.

"Aelita?"

"They told me he...my father... had drunk a wine that had poison in it," she said softly, barely aware she was speaking out loud. Her eyes stayed on the chair, her face expressionless. "He died here, in this room. They thought it was suicide, since the only fingerprints on the bottle were his. But...why..."

Aelita felt a warm hand slip into hers, and she blinked and looked up. Jeremie stood only a few inches from her, a strange expression in his blue eyes. It wasn't pity, she knew. She could recognize that. This...She blinked again, and winced when a tear fell.

"Blast." Blushing and cursing her own jumbled emotions, she quickly took her hand from his and wiped the tear away. She tried to ignore the small jolt that she had gotten from touching him. "I am sorry, getting all soggy." She sent him a small smile in thanks. Jeremie smiled back, but that intense look in his eyes didn't fade.

"Odd, do you think you can sit up now?" She turned to face her cousin, to see he already was sitting up, and eating something that looked suspiciously like a cookie.

"Ulrich! Is he supposed to eat already?!" She frowned, glaring when Odd and Ulrich grinned innocently. "Can his stomach handle it after the shock?"

"I'm starv-ving, Princess," Odd explained around a mouthful. He patted his stomach. "It just got back into workin' order! I'm not about to loose it again."

Yumi made a face and rolled her eyes. "His stomach is coated with iron as it is," she added wryly, and Aelita's lips quirked.

"That's true enough." She walked to Odd and held out a hand as he swallowed. "May I have the bag, please?"

Odd's eyes narrowed, then shrugged and pulled it out of his coat. Aelita took it, holding it gingerly like it was a child. "I am sorry you had to go through that, Oddric," she said softly after a second. "I can't thank you enough."

Odd smiled crookedly. "Yes, ya can. Just explain to me what the bloody hell that thing is and what's going on. No more secret's, Aelita." Aelita glared slightly, then sighed.

"I'd say some of these secrets are there to keep others safe, but apparently you can't stay out of danger no matter what." Shaking her head, she gently undid the tie around the bag, then reached in and took out the contents.

A soft gasp echoed around the room. "What the...all this trouble is over that little ugly contraption?" Ulrich asked, a shocked expression on his face.

"That's a bomb?!" Yumi and Jeremie asked in unison. "That is barely bigger than your hand," Yumi added softly, frowning. "It is impossible something so small could ever-"

Aelita slowly raised her eyes to her friend's. "Nothing's ever impossible, Yumi-chan," she said softly, then looked back down at the timepiece.

It looked the same as it had the day of the attack in her office. Nothing ever changed on the thing, though, she thought, sighing. But the wording...She frowned. Hadn't there been words, a message on the four stems around the circles? She blinked and looked closer. Now it just looked plain, as if someone had scrubbed the metal. The tiny gears and wheels still ticked and moved silently, slowly. She counted the beats, then sighed. It had always ticked along to the pace of a heartbeat, always.

"How do you know it's so dangerous?" Ulrich asked softly after a minute. "Did your father tell you?"

"And why the bloody hell didn't you tell us?!" Odd glared a little at her, and with Ulrich's help, he stood. "You knew your father was up to something, yet-"

"It isn't his fault!" Aelita scowled at Odd, her retort echoing around the room. She winced, then shook her head. "He didn't take it, he didn't steal it! Who ever spread that lie-"

"He created the damn thing," Odd replied, folding his arms. "Same thing, is it not, little cousin?"

Aelita hissed in annoyance and shook her head. "Oddric, this is exactly why I can't tell people. It's utterly not comprehendible, not to you, anyway. My father did nothing wrong but try his upmost to protect his family. It is my duty to do the same."

Odd snorted. "And just who needs to be protected?!" He guestered, his arms wide, as if to include everyone. "Are we getting chased by metal wolves writing bloody messages on our walls, Princess?!" Aelita glared at him, but she bit her lip and didn't answer. Odd growled, rolling his eyes and slid his gaze across the room. "Professor, you think she's mad as a hatter, right?"

Jeremie, who had been standing behind Aelita, looking over the automation wolf, jumped and turned. "I..." He looked back at Aelita, and the strange device in her hands. "It isn't my place to pass judgement," he said hesitantly, shaking his head. "I..."

"But are you not the only other one who's heard of this object in the first place, Mr. Belpois?" Yumi asked softly, raising an eyebrow. Jeremie blinked, looking at her. Her eyes were narrowed, and Jeremie suddenly felt as if he was being x-rayed.

"I..." Ulrich and Odd also looked at him and he winced. "I do know some things, but only what was written...what you and your father wrote," he admitted, looking over at Aelita. After a moment, she turned and looked at him.

"Those are only research ideas," she told him, shaking her head. "Nothing concrete."

Jeremie shook his head. "Those articles are all so well written, Aelita, it had to be more than theory. Especially the last few, in the past few months-"

"It's all in theory, Jeremie!" She covered her face with her hands. "My father barely left any notes, I did what I could to make it seem like nothing...like nothing had happened...but..."

"You're scared to find out yourself," Jeremie said softly. "Because your father knew it was dangerous, and now he has you believing the same thing."

Aelita looked at him, frowning, and for a moment Jeremie thought he had angered her. There was a strange shimmer in her eyes now, whether it was temper or tears, he couldn't tell.

"No...it's not that. I could set it off, Jeremie. You can't just take your clockworking tools and take it apart! And if it goes off..." She shook her head. "My father had articles and notes about other incidents...disasters. No know knows if a Timepiece was responsible, but, it could be that a device like this could have once set this very city aflame, centuries ago. It could have started the plagues in France, or desolated the-"

"Alright, Aelita, we understand. It is a...curse, possibly, to the keeper. But then why would your father make such a thing?"

Aelita's eyes narrowed and she turned back to look at Yumi, who had asked the question. "I..." She bit her lip, hesitating. After a moment, she looked back at Jeremie.

"In your researching, did you ever read about the Carthage Project, Jeremie?"

Jeremie blinked at her, surprised at the sudden change of topic. "Um..." His brow wrinkled in thought as he racked his brain. "Carthage, you said?"

"The ancient city, the legends of the Punic Wars," Ulrich said suddenly, take a step forward. "That's just myth, right?" The others stared at him, and he shrugged. "Right?"

Aelita smiled slightly. "Yes, Carthage is the city from that time. But...it's more than that." A shiver went down her spine. "Those disasters I mentioned? They may have not only be created by a Timepiece like this one, but..." She looked back at Jeremie, and her eyes were grim. "It may have been on purpose."

"What?!"

Aelita sighed, and after a moment, shook her head. "It's a long story, and I don't know the whole of it. And..." she glanced at the lop-sided clock on the wall. It was already halfway though the afternoon. Her head spun at the thought. How had so much happened in so little time? "And we've been missing enough already. If-"

Odd raised his eyebrows. "Missing? We're hiding, remember?" His eyes flashed for a second. "Last thing we need is for you to get caught by the police and that man they followed."

Aelita shook her head. "It's too suspicious if all five of us are gone. They'll suspect you all as well. I'll go back. Kadic-"

"-Can wait," Jeremie said softly, gently putting a hand on her arm. "It isn't worth to feign normalcy to have you get caught, Aelita." Aelita frowned and moved away slightly. Jeremie's heart sunk a little, but he continued. "I'll go if you'd like. I'll tell Delmas something, some explanation."

"We can't all be bloody sick, Professor," Odd quipped, shaking his head. "That won't work, even Delmas could figure that out."

Jeremie raised an eyebrow. "Then what do you suggest?"

Odd snorted. "I don't bloody know. What do they want with that thing, Aelita? Can't we just destroy it?"

"No!" Aelita shook her head sharply. "Even if there was a way, we can't do that, it's too close to the end of the countdown, it-"

"The countdown?" Yumi's eyes widened, then narrowed. "The threat on your wall mentioned something like that."

The countdown has begun. A shiver went down her spine, and she nodded.

"You lied to us then, told us you had no idea what that meant," Odd reminded her softly. Aelita looked at him, her eyes flashing, but he continued. "Do you know what it really means? Who wrote that message?"

"I've told you, Oddric, I have no idea who did that. I have...a theory, but it's madness. The countdown..." She let out a harsh sigh. "There is something, but...it's unstoppable, and I don't know what controls it! My father set the energy it beats to, and never told me what it was, or how to stop it! I-"

"The energy it beats too?" Jeremie frowned. "It runs off of energy? How?" He leaned closer to the thing, and felt a slightly tingle go down his spine. "It's quite a beautiful thing," he added, not realizing Aelita was staring at him. "The craftsmanship is remarkable. It's powered by energy?" He reached out, not thinking, and one finger grazed the timepiece before Aelita had time to stop him.

Images, sudden and blurred, flashed through his mind. Faces, voices, words, screams in many languages. Jeremie gasped as a shock went through his arm, and he jumped back.

"Jeremie!" Aelita stared at him. "What happened? Are you alright?"

Jeremie frowned, shaking his still tingling finger. "Y-yes...I think. How interesting..." The vision he had seen faded almost as quickly as it come, as if it had never occurred.

"Aelita...you said it was a weapon, yes?" Yumi's eyes were also on the timepiece, her expression thoughtful. "Do you think it'd be possible to use it to direct it at the people threatening you? Use it's power against them?"

Aelita stared at her., and a look of horror moved into her eyes. "It could destroy this city, Yumi, if used wrong. No, that is not what my father created it for." Her eyes narrowed. "I won't taint it with blood, no matter whose it is."

Blood. Blooded path. Blooded footprints.

A hiss of a nightmare whispered through the back of Jeremie's head. "What did your father create it for then?" He heard himself asking. "Why would he work on this if he knew it only created destruction?"

Aelita bit her lip, looking down at the small object in her hands. It seemed so innocent, slowly pulsing against her fingertips. No threatening messages, nothing. Why had it shocked Jeremie, she didn't understand. So much she couldn't understand.

"That's because he didn't make it as a weapon, Jeremie. It was never supposed to be one. The Virtual Timepiece was always meant to be...be..." she hesitated, unsure how to word the honest answer. "A Key. Or a door. A portal."

"To what?" Ulrich and Yumi asked in unison, their eyes wide.

Aelita hesitated, then looked at her feet, unable to look any of them in the face. "My father once told me...it was believed by the makers of the other timepieces that it could be a portal to another world."

A stunned silence settled on the room as that answer sunk in.

"Another w-world? Like heaven?" Yumi and Odd exchanged glances, Yumi surprised, Odd dubious. Despite everything, Aelita felt her hackles raise. Would they never believe her? She could see Ulrich raise his eyebrows, just as doubtful as his friend. Their expressions all read the same message of total disbelief.

"I'm not lying!" She snapped, hugging the Timepiece to her chest. "I know it sounds utterly insane, but I can only tell you what I know!" To her fury, she felt tears of exhaustion and frustration well up in her eyes. She took a step back, towards the door, backing up. Jeremie reached towards her, but she didn't notice. Temper and sorrow backed up in her lungs as a tear threatened to fall. She glared at them as they stared at her.

"This is why I should've never told you! You don't understand, you'll only get hurt!"

"Aelita! No! Don't-"

"Forget this! All of this! I was an idiot to trust any of you with it!" Furious at herself, she turned and raced out of the room, away from the doubts and the nightmarish memories, the Timepiece still ticking softly in time of her heartbeat.


	21. Chapter 21

"Aelita!"

Jeremie's voice echoed hollowly back at him as he stumbled after her. The rooms beyond the destroyed laboratory were mostly empty, all passing as blurs as he tried to follow the sound of her fading footsteps. "Aelita! Please, wait!" In his mind's eye he could still see the stricken look on her face right before she had raced off. She had sounded angry, but her eyes...he cursed and went faster. Her eyes had been as wide and terrified as any child's.

Stop her. Save her. Do bloody something!

Panic roaring in his head, he burst through a door- and ran straight into a counter full of clocks.

"OY!"

Someone was yelling, and Jeremie felt someone grab his arm to pull him roughly to his feet. "Who are you, what are you doing?!"

"I...I..." Jeremie barely spared a glance for the irate man in the apron who was yelling at him. "Sorry! I need to find someone."

"Come back here, you need to pay for the-!" Jeremie was already out the door before the man had even finished his sentence.

It was close to sunset, Jeremie realized as soon as he got outside. Dusk was beginning to fall, but the streets were still quite crowded. Jeremie skidded to a halt, glancing around, trying to see that familiar head of pink hair.

There- he thought he saw a flash of her grey dress in the distance, moving in the direction of the school.

"Of course, you idiot, she said she wanted to go there," Jeremie muttered at himself, and sped off after her.

101010101

Back inside the ruined laboratory room, Odd, Yumi and Ulrich stood in silence. Odd leaned heavily against the wall, glaring uncharacteristically at the floor.

"You shouldn't have yelled at her, mate," Ulrich said, shaking his head. Odd snorted.

"It's a damn pity I didn't yell more. No." He cursed and sighed. "It's not her, it's that...her father. My uncle," he added bitterly, shaking his head. "That madman didn't protect her, he set her up for sacrifice!"

"We don't know what he was even protecting her from," Yumi reminded him quietly. "What was all that about a project?"

Odd shrugged. "I don't know. I barely knew the man. I came back after he started hiding in this blasted place." He glared at the other two. "What about you?" He asked glumly, looking at Yumi. "She never told you anything either, right? You've been bloody practically living with her for blasted knows how long, so-"

"It's been three years," Yumi replied, her eyes narrowed. "I owe her enough that her secret's are none of my worry. Her safety however..." She sighed. "It irks me more that she denies the need for protection, after all that's happened." Her gaze slipped towards the door Aelita had gone through. "I wonder if Belpois has caught up with her yet."

"Ah, let him try. The fellow's half in love as it is," Odd snorted. "I just hope she stays in the bloody shadows." He shot a look at the door, then stood up straight. "I'll be off now, so-"

"And where do you think you're going?" Yumi snapped. "Do not be childish Oddric, you know you're being looked for too, so-"

Odd swept her a over-the-top bow and smirked. "Fear not, fair maiden, I am only in need of the privy. And some blasted fresh air," he added quietly. Yumi rolled her eyes as he strode out of the room.

Ulrich slumped further down against the wall, trying not to glance over at her. If she caught him staring...Then again, what did it matter anyway, he thought, folding his arms. She apparently hated him already. He glanced over at her, to see that she had wandered over to pick up a book that had been on the floor.

"None of this makes any sense," he muttered. Yumi didn't reply, but she didn't turn to glare at him either. Feeling foolishly hopeful, he continued as if talking to himself. "About that strange blasted clock or Aelita's father, or...or any of it. But we're all in danger now, whether she likes it or not. She's changed, though, Aelita has." He shook his head. "Not that I remember much of how she had been so lo-"

"Not every can stay the same for your personal liking," Yumi snapped softly, turning a page.

Ulrich's eyes narrowed. "You certainly haven't," he replied, watching her.

No, that wasn't true, he realized, and sighed. She had changed, but yet...

How long had it been, really, since he had last seen her before coming home? Four, five years? He had lost count now. He smiled sadly at the thought.

"Your family let you leave Japan?"

The question was out of his mouth before he could stop it. Yumi froze in the middle of turning a page, then continued the movement as if she hadn't heard him.

"It was about this time of year, right? When they let us move in?" His eyes narrowed. "The goddamn samurai, made a bloody reck of the town, right before we got there. 'Noble warriors' my arse." Yumi's shoulder's visibly bristled as he spoke. Ulrich hesitated, then continued. Speaking about it felt strange, almost painful, yet now he knew he had to continue, to talk to her. "I remember the first time I saw you," he admitted after a moment.

"Cherry blossoms." Her voice, those two words, were barely above a whisper, yet Ulrich heard them. Hope began to grow again and his heart kicked up slightly. So she did remember.

"I'll probably never forget that," he continued, acting as if he hadn't heard her. "In the midst of the chaos, you..." Seemed so calm, he thought, but didn't say it aloud. Shouts and crying had echoed around her, yet she had been gliding by, a spot of determined serenity. A cherry tree had been the one thing of color he saw, until he had seen her.

Realizing she was now watching him, a strange look on her face, Ulrich winced and looked away. "I..I mean..." Damn. So much for trying to break the tension.

"You remember that?"

Ulrich looked over at her. Her exotic eyes were expressionless, and he felt as if she could see through him. "Yes. You saw me and I almost ran into the blasted tree."

"With petals in your eyes," Yumi added, her lips quivering as if she was trying not to smile. Ulrich raised his eyebrows. No, it hadn't been that, he thought, watching her. It had been you. Ulrich winced, and pushed that thought out of his head. What a stupid thing to think.

"Ulrich..." Yumi sighed slightly, and closed the book she had been holding. "I..." She hesitated, then shook her head and took a step towards him. "Perhaps I was being childish, holding a grudge to you." After a minute, she met his gaze and Ulrich felt his heart jump.

"Now you apologize?" He smiled wryly. "Well, it's accepted. Although if you had just read the letters I sent after I left, there would have been-"

Yumi frowned and shook her head. "Ulrich-kun," she said, slipping into the old, more familiar way of addressing him. Ulrich blinked in surprise. "I told you...I never received those letters."

Ulrich shook his head. "I sent them with William. William Dunbar, you remember him? He was in my troop, he- what?" Yumi's face had gone deathly pale. Ulrich stared at her in surprise. "What's the matter?"

"William...William was the one who told me you were dead."

Shock or disbelief, he couldn't tell which came first, shot into his chest. Ulrich almost staggered backwards as her statement sunk in.

"Who's dead?"

Odd's voice broke the stunned silence, causing both Ulrich and Yumi to jerk suddenly. Yumi recovered first, raising her eyebrows as the blond man swaggered back into the room.

"Did you get lost on the way to your business?" She asked waspishly, moving her gaze from Ulrich, who was still staring at her in shock. Well, there was no point in regretting telling him the truth now, she thought, turning her back on him.

It all makes sense now, doesn't it, sneered a little voice in her head. You were being stupid for being angry at him, and now he's not going to believe you. Yumi scowled and pushed that thought away.

"No, but I did find that there's more than one way out of here." Odd grinned and jerked his thumb back towards the direction he had came. "Windows lead out to the back alley. No one would-"

"No, Odd," Ulrich snapped softly. Despite the nagging voice in her head, Yumi turned to look at him. The solider was glaring at the floor, his arms folded as they had been earlier. The gentleness from only moments ago was gone, almost as if it had never existed. "We stay here. that's what Princess said to do. I don't understand a damn bit of this mess, but she knows what she's talking about."

Odd raised an eyebrow at his friend, then snorted. "Ah, right, so we all follow my mad cousin." He sighed, and shook his head. "This will be a long wait, then."

1010101010101010110

It wasn't the first time in her life that Aelita had to dodge crowds, slipping in and out of groups without being noticed. Focused on the spire of the school up ahead, the blur of humans, London streets bustling with life, barely seemed real to her.

As she hurried along, the words and expressions of her friends played and replayed in the back of her mind. Worries began to grow there, making her wonder if she was being childish, running off like this. She could feel the steady pulse of the Virtual Timepiece against her chest, tucked into the bodice of her dress, reminding her all the while how careful she had to be.

Finally she could see the front steps of the building, see some of the teachers exiting with the students. Parents, children, adults...they all milled around as always. No- wait...Aelita slowed, a series of dark colored uniforms catching her eye. Who was-

Suddenly, a hand wrapped around her upper arm and yanked her back behind a pillar.

Terror lashed up her spine, and Aelita spun, her fist already flying the direction of her attacker. "OY!"

"Shhhhh!" A hand clapped over her mouth, and the pink haired girl froze as recognition dawned. Vivid blue eyes narrowed in concentration, focused on something behind them. Jeremie's glasses glinted in the sunset, yet the man barely blinked as he glared past the pillar.

"Jeremie, what in the name of heaven are you doing?!" Aelita snapped angrily, the warm skin of his hand over her mouth tickling her lips. When he didn't respond except to very gently take the hand away from her mouth, Aelita huffed in annoyance. "For your information, Belpois, I was perfectly fine-"

"Shhh!"

Despite her anger, Aelita fell silent. For a moment.

Jeremie suddenly took a step back from her, his expression wary. "This way..." He snuck around the pillar, and instead of heading towards the main stairs, he went left, down the tiny alley way between the school and the business next to it.

Torn between confusion, annoyance and curiosity, Aelita followed him, glancing back behind her as she went.

"Where are we...I mean...what's going on?!" Jeremie flattened himself against the wall and moved slower, not answering. Aelita stared at him. "Belpois?! What...what are you doing?! Have you gone mad?!"

"You wanted to get into the school, yes?" Jeremie didn't look back at her, but he moved a little slower, as if trying to let her catch up.

Aelita blinked, pausing for a moment. "Well, yes, I-"

"Did you see the uniformed men at the front gate?"

"Yes, but-"

"Aelita, from what Odd described, those men could part of the troop out looking for you!"

Aelita opened her mouth to argue, then shut it again. Then her eyes narrowed. "How do you know?! And why..." She shook her head, glancing behind her. "You thought it was madness just as the others did! Why, in all of blasted heaven are you helping me?"

Jeremie looked back at her, and now it was he who started to speak, then stopped, hesitating. "I..." As Aelita watched, the young man's face began to redden slightly.

A sudden yell from behind them made Aelita whip around. Shadows of running men flickered on the walls by the entrance of the alley, and she backed up in panic.

"Damn and blast," she hissed, trying to hurry backwards further down the narrow path. "What if they see us?!"

"Go!" Jeremie grabbed her arm, but as more shadows flickered across, she shook her head.

"We'll never make it." Suddenly, her eyes narrowed. "Wait...Ulrich was supposed to be one of those troop members right? And Odd would have said if he had recognized the others who caught him..."

Jeremie stared at her. One moment she was panicked, but now she was calm, her eyes into space as she muttered to herself. Another yelll, this time closer, made them both jump, and Aelita whirled to look at Jeremie.

"Pin me to the wall."

Jeremie stared at her.

"Pardon?!"

Aelita flattened her back against the wall of the school. "Do it, now! Hurry!" Her green eyes darted in the direction of the growing shadows towards the end of the alley way, and she glared at him.

"But-"

When Jeremie, his face now red to his ears, just tried to protest, Aelita grabbed his arm and pulled him so they were almost nose to nose. The sound of footsteps rattled by their tiny passage way, although all Jeremie could hear with the sound of his heart, thudding in his ears. He could feel Aelita's face turn into the crook of his neck, almost as if she was nuzzling him. HIs face burned, but neither dared to move until the sound of the footsteps faded.

"A...A..Aelita...?"

"Hush..." Aelita put a finger against his lips, hushing him. "They're gone. Now. Let's go."

The warmth of her hand on his face and her body so close to his made his brain nearly shut down completely. Jeremie stared at her for a moment as she slid away from him and began hurrying down the alley.

"W-wait!" Forcing his mind to catch up, he hurried after her. "What...what was that-"

Aelita didn't answer, her grey dress nearly blending in with the bland colors of the buildings next to them. All he could see was her pink hair- until she turned and vanished, seemly into thin air.

Panic seized him, and he heard forward. "Aelita! Miss Stones! Where did you-" Now a hand clamped over his mouth, and Jeremie yelped and tried to back away.

"Belpois, you dolt, it's me!" Aelita let him go and pushed the tiny side door she had wedged herself into a little farther open. "I know this school backwards and upsides." She motioned at him to follow her. "I don't know why you insist on following me, but unless your sanity has finally set in..." Jeremie's lips quirked at her words as he followed her.

"Sanity? I laugh in the face of such nonsense! Hahaha-"

"Have a joke, do ya', mister?"

In unison, Aelita and Jeremie froze. A faint scent of alcohol wafted towards them as a silhouette fell across them. The smell, and the raspy, slurred voice that had spoken, made the hairs on the back of Jeremie's neck stand up. The memory of a dark street filled with the sound of jeering voices lashed through his brain, and his shoulder twinged as if remembering pain.

Suddenly, light filled the tiny dark hallway and three men were illuminated to them. The one in the front leered at Jeremie, and the smell of gin made bile rise in the back of his throat. Clad in a dark brown coat, the man swaggered forward until he was inches away from the pair of them.

"'Ello, Professor. You lost again? Looks like we found ya this time."


	22. Chapter 22

Before this chapter begins, I would just like to say thank you to everyone who has read, followed, fav and reviewed this rather strange story so far. I hope it's at least meeting your expectations, and I will admit that it is far from over. Thank you again. You're all awesome!

Now on with our strange tale...

"Mr. Gray, who are these two outsiders?" One of the figures behind the drunken thug moved forward, eyes darting back and forth between Jeremie and Aelita.

Fear pulsed up Aelita's spine, and she took a step back, taking refuge in the shadows. If these men recognized her, she and Jeremie would both probably be dead.

"Outsiders?" The thug in front waved a hand as if wishing the question away. "No...not exactly. They're just lost."

"Lost from w-what?" Jeremie asked, his voice shaking. Aelita bit her lip and took another step back. Jeremie wasn't exactly known for being good at lying. "I...we're just going to the school, and-"

"We?" The thug leaned over and looked in Aelita's direction. Jeremie instantly scooted over as if to cover her, and the thug's eyes narrowed as he leered. "Well, 'ello, tart. You the one we's looking for?"

"N-no-"

"Shut it, blondie," snapped one of the other uniformed men, and brandished a club in one hand. "Mr. Gray ain't talking to you." He looked at Aelita. "Come outta the shadows, missy."

Panicked, Jeremie wedged himself between Aelita and the three thugs. One of men snorted. "Don't be daft, boy. We don't want you, go about your way."

"Wait...maybe we do want him." The main thug, the one called Mr. Gray, poked Jeremie on the shoulder. "I thought I knew you. Professor. Not an outsider at all. And you..." The man's eyes narrowed again, then his face moved into a frighteningly angry smile. "You are the tart we're after...you're the one who pulled a knife on my mate the other day." He suddenly grabbed Aelita by the back of the head, pulling her by the hair. Aelita screamed in pain and fury, kicking the man in the knee. The thug yelped and let go, but the other two darted forward.

"Stop it!"

Jeremie dove in front of Aelita, his arms flung wide.

"I know what you're looking for, but you've got it wrong!" One of the thugs hit Jeremie hard on the shoulder, but he just winced and backed up, keep Aelita safe behind him.

What the blast was he doing? Eyes wide in panic, her scalp still crawling with pain from when the one thug had grabbed her, Aelita stared, half in a fighting stance behind him. Was he going to tell them she had the Timepiece?

"You've got it wrong!" Jeremie repeated hotly, fury and fear making his voice sound stronger than he felt. "I know where it is!"

"Wha-" Aelita started, then shut up when he looked back to catch her gaze. There was something strange in his eyes, a fierce protection that blazed there like a blue fire. Aelita's breath caught, and she stood stock still, waiting.

The other three had also frozen at Jeremie's words, and Mr Gray peered sidelong at Jeremie. "What you say, Professor?" He hissed, his eyebrows raised. "You're bluffin', you don't know what-"

"The Virtual Timepiece. A strange piece of metal that works as a clock, a key, and hell knows what else," Jeremie snapped. Gray's eyes popped open wide.

"That-"

"This girl here doesn't have it, doesn't know where it is, she came here to find it, just like you. But I'll tell you where it is."

"Why?" The thug spat on the floor at Jeremie's feet. "You have no reason to-"

"I do," Jeremie cut him off again. "I'll tell you where it is because your employer would rather have the timepiece than another damn dead girl with no answers. I'll tell you where it is, just don't touch her." His eyes narrowed. "Or you'll lose the Timepiece and her."

"I'm listenin'," Mr. Gray said after a moment, leaning back. A flicker of hope ignited in Aelita's chest.

"How long have you been in this building, Mr. Gray?"

Gray's eyes narrowed again. "That has nothing to do with-"

"Oh, but it does," Jeremie said calmly, almost as if this was a normal, polite conversation between friends. The fear from before seemed to have all but vanished. Aelita, however, could feel him shaking as she leaned against his back. Gently, she put a hand on his shoulder blade, trying to give comfort. Her own heart felt like it was trying hammer it's way out of her chest.

"If you've been in this school long enough to notice, the main clock of this school, which is on the third floor of this building, is very off in it's timing. There is a reason for that."

"Meaning?"

Jeremie smiled slowly, angrily. "Meaning, Mr. Gray, that there is a clock within the clock, upsetting the delicate balance there and thus putting of it's time." He tilted his head forward in a tiny nod. "If you can count high enough to understand the hours, of course."

"Why you-"

"Shut it, lads." Gray returned Jeremie's dangerous smile. "I will...inform the headman of our...foundlings. You two gigs stay here, and watch 'em. Make sure they don't plan on sneakin' off."

The other two thugs saluted, and Grey turned and lurched off the way he had came.

"Jeremie..." Her heart thudding in her chest, Aelita put her hand lightly on his shoulder, hoping he wouldn't feel how hard she was shaking. A million questions, words, sentence's all clamored in her mind, but she said nothing as he turned to look at her.

"We'll be alright," he told her, his eyes meeting hers. The panic and fear was still there, hiding in the blue behind his slightly cracked glasses. How could he speak so calmly now? "We'll let Mr. Gray find his way, and then we'll be free." His voice was barely audible, and Aelita leaned closer, turning into him. She watched as his gaze darted to the two men who had now leaned against the walls of the tiny room they were in. One had taken out his knife and was idling throwing against the floor and picking it up again, while the other simple stared at herself and Jeremie, one eye twitching slightly.

Aelita breathed out slightly, meeting his gaze again. "What shall we do whist he finds his way?" She returned, barely making a sound. One of the guards snorted, making them both jump.

"If these two start snoggin', I'll lose me lunch," he muttered.

"Shut it, ya git," snapped his comrade, acting as if Aelita and Jeremie weren't even in the room. "I'll lose MY lunch if you don't keep yer mouth-" He cut off and whistled. "What you playin' at, ladybird?"

Aelita blinked innocently and stopped playing with her skirt. The heavy grey fabric swished back down around her ankles.

"Aw, man, now ya had to go and stop her. She fergot we were here." They both leered at their two captives. "Hey, ladybird, ya wanna do that again?"

Aelita fluttered eyelashes. "Why, now why would I do that?" She asked sweetly, leaning back against Jeremie. "It's distracting you from your job."

"From what job, little la-"

The next second, a knife skittered across the stones inches from one of the guard's faces.

"What the bloody mother of-"

The thug's bellow was cut off with a grunt as Jeremie's elbow found a place in his gut. The other thug recovered quicker, grabbing Aelita's arms and twisting them behind her back.

"Think your bloody clever, do ya, wench?!" He hissed in her ear. "If your lover boy over there takes one move towards ya, you're dead, little ladybird. Got that?"

Jeremie turned where he was, standing over the wounded thug. His eyes went wide and met Aelita's.

Aelita hung her head, as if defeated, and the thug holding her chuckled. "Thought so. Damn selfish woman, causin' so much trouble to the Doctor, you should just keep yer mouth shut, skirts up and head down. Then you mighta lived."

"Why?" Aelita's voice was trembling, and Jeremie, frozen in place by the fear of getting her hurt, felt the cold hand of helplessness seize his heart. "Who's making you do this? Who's your master?"

The thug snorted again. "The sweet love of money's my master, missy, and nothin' else. The Doctor pays me well, and I got the promise that madman's paradise he says he'll make." " He pulled her arms harder, making her wince. "And now I'll be gettin' some extra pay- OY!"

Aelita's heel had found it's way into the thug's foot, and he winced, yelping.

"Aelita!" Jeremie grabbed her arm, and helped her wrench her wrists from the man's grasp. When the thug lurched forward, Aelita spun around, and slammed the hilt of her knife into the man's temple. With a grunt, the man collapsed to the floor.

Shaking, Aelita slowly looked up and over at Jeremie. He was staring down at the thug now laying on the ground. "Are you alright, Jeremie?" She moved a little closer. "You're not hurt?" To her surprise, Jeremie spun to face her and laid a gentle hand on her cheek.

"Did he hurt you?" Behind the slightly cracked glasses, his eyes were neon again. Aelita could feel his hand trembling slightly, and put her hand over his. Something moved, shimmered inside her heart, pulsed in a way that had nothing to do with the Virtual Timepiece. She gasped softly and Jeremie blinked and blushed. Pulling his hand away as if she had burnt him, he looked away.

"I...I mean...they shouldn't touched you." Watching him, Aelita saw his blue eyes flash in fury.

"It's alright. It would have been much...much worse if you hadn't been here," she added, and for a moment she took his hand in hers, squeezing it gently. "So thank you." Jeremie jerked at the touch and looked at her again. After a second, he smiled slowly, still blushing, and nodded.

"T-thank you, Aelita. You..." He shook his head, and moved forward. "We should hurry, get out of here before that monster Gray comes back."

Aelita nodded, and followed him down the tiny hallway.

10101011010101

The school was quiet, most of the students gone for the day. The tiny hallway Jeremie and Aelita had found themselves in branched out into one of the main hallways near the front of the school.

In the silence, Aelita could have sworn her heart pounded so loud it echoed. Somewhere in the hallways, her hand had found it's way back into Jeremie's, although she wondered if he had noticed. It was a small point of comfort, she realized as they sneaked along, the feeling of his warm hand in hers. It was real.

Voices, male and loud, reached her ears, and she froze.

"Aelita?"

She put a finger to her lips, and Jeremie hushed, glancing about.

"Listen," she mouthed silently at him, and he nodded, going quite still.

"-simply do not see the possibility of any of my staff acting this way!" Headmaster Delmas's voice boomed out, sounding unusually distraught. "And what, Professor, is all this madness about the school's clock?! It's bad business for the school to have such gentleman about!"

Compared to the blasting sound of Delmas's voice, the answer was barely audible, a polite murmur at best. "My deepest apologies, Headmaster, but it is quite necessary for now. We have word that the stolen object in question may be in the clock itself, so-"

That voice. Jeremie's eyes widened. "It's impossible..." Aelita looked over at him, but he didn't seem to even realize that he had spoken out loud.

"A bomb?! Who in the blazes would put such a device in my school?! It's an outrage, I tell you!"

"It is an outrage, and we will sniff out the one who did such a wicked thing, I assure you. But first we need to find Ms. Stone and her fellows. They may be the only ones who can help us find the bomb for certain."

"Yes...perhaps Belpois can. He certainly may know a thing or two, he seems to be a capable and intelligent young man. Ms Stones and Ms Ishyama? I doubt that they would have anything to do with this, they-"

"It is not up to my men and I to deem who may be capable. We have to find out by speaking to them directly. So, Headmaster, I will ask again. Do you know where they are?"

The Headmaster didn't answer for a moment. "I have given you the addresses of their off campus residencies. Belpois has a room here but has not shown up there for most of his stay here. There is little else I can do." Delmas's voice was quieter now, as if disappointed.

"Who is that?" Aelita whispered in Jeremie's ear, so suddenly he almost fell out of their hiding place and into the corridor ahead. He looked at her, to see her eyes were narrowed and directed toward the sounds of the conversation. "That man...he sounds familiar, but..." she shook her head then looked at him. Jeremie hesitated, frowning slightly.

"It's true, that voice is familiar to me as well," he admitted slowly, also glancing in the direction of the voices. "If we could hear a name..."

"He sounds like a gentleman," Aelita continued, still frowning. "But..." a small shudder went up her spine, and she winced. "I'm not sure there's much gentle about him."

After a minute, Jeremie sighed, and nervously peered around the corner into the next hallway. "Do you think we should press on? Delmas is right there, Aelita. Do you still want to...Aelita?"

A shriek of fear sounded behind him, and Jeremie spun round. "Aelita?!"

"Jeremie! Run!" Two thugs, who had silently snuck up behind when Jeremie and Aelita were distracted, now had the pink-haired girl with her arms behind her back, and they were pulling her back down the hallway.

Panic and anger electrified his system, and Jeremie sprang forward, racing after the struggling girl. "Aelita! No! Let her go, you-"

Suddenly, something hard cuffed him on the back of the head, and Jeremie collapsed to the floor. HIs vision going dark, all he could hear was the sound of Aelita's furious yelling and a quiet moaning off in the distance, like the sound of a lonely wolf.


	23. Chapter 23

Thud. Thunk thud. Thud. Thunk thud.

"Odd."

Thud. Thunk thud.

"Odd!"

Thunk thud.

"ODDRIC!"

"What?!" Half way through throw his pen knife into the floor once again, Odd looked over his shoulder at Ulrich, who had yelled at him.

Ulrich glared. "Would you stop that blasted damn knife throwing? It's giving me a headache." Odd snorted and rolled his eyes, then folded up the knife back into his pocket.

"Yes, Mum," he replied sarcastically and turned back around.

For a moment there was silence. Then finally Yumi turned away from the book she had been reading, and looked between the two young men. "What time do you believe it is?"

Odd snorted again. "What's it matter? We're bloody stuck here until Princess and her genius fellow comes back.

"You think he won't betray her?"

Odd turned back to look at Yumi. Her lips were pursed in an almost disapproving manner and her eyes were narrowed. Odd raised an eyebrow. "You still don't trust him?"

Yumi raised an eyebrow in return. "You do? Were you not the one who first thought Mr Belpois was the one to put the first wolf machine in her office?"

Odd blinked, then shrugged. "He had an alibi, sweetheart, what else would you need?" Yumi simply frowned and looked at the floor. Odd spun all the way around and looked over at Ulrich instead. "You don't trust the poor fellow, Lieutenant?"

The solider scowled slightly and shrugged. "Don't call me that. It doesn't work anymore." He glanced over at Yumi. "Seems like you can't trust anyone, so..." He trailed off shrugging.

Odd rolled his eyes and laid down, staring at the ceiling. "You two are as much fun as the principle's daughter in church," he muttered, and sighed. "Only at least-"

"Shhh!"

Yumi had suddenly gone very rigid. Odd and Ulrich both looked at her, then looked at each other.

"Something wrong, Yumi?"

Yumi frowned, and rubbed her arms as if she was cold. "No...not exactly. But..." she looked over at the door that lead back down into the tunnel. "I just..."

Odd blinked and held up a hand. "Shush. I heard something." Eyes narrowed slightly, he stood and went over to the door. "But..."

"Help!"

Footsteps slammed towards them, and the three backed up, going into a small group in the center of the room.

"Please! Let me..."

"Who the hell would that be?!" Ulrich glared, glancing from one door to the other. "Where is it coming from?"

Yumi simply pointed to the door that lead out to the front of the building.

Just then, that door burst open and Jeremie blasted into the room. "Help! Please! They...they..."He gasped for breath, practically bending double. Odd went forward first, patting Jeremie awkwardly on the back.

"Calm down, Professor," he said, trying to sound calm himself. "Certainly took you long enough to get back here. What's this about-"

"They...they have Aelita!"

"What?!"

Jeremie put his hands on his throat, trying to make the burning panic go away. "I...we were trying to get to Delmas, but a group of thugs grabbed her. I tried to...to stop them. But..." He winced, putting a hand to his forehead. One of the other three gasped, and Yumi moved forward.

"That bump's bigger than your hand, Belpois," she said softly, gentle despite her raging fears at the news of Aelita's capture. "There should be a cold compress or something to put-"

"No." Jeremie shook his head, his blue eyes wild. "Thank you, but we don't have the time for that. We have to get back there. Help her."

"Do you know where they took her?"

Jeremie winced. "No. Although we can start looking in the school, that'd be best."

Odd snorted. "The school. You want us to go back to the damn same place where there's apparently kidnappers just a-waiting 'round the corner's for us?"

"Odd!" Ulrich's good eye narrowed in annoyance. "She's your bloody cousin, you idiot, so-"

"Do you think I'm not aware of that?!" Odd's voice slowly rose to a shout. "This is her bloody problem, and we're in it- and isn't this a laugh- because she wanted to protect us."

"You were the one who volunteered to steal the blasted clock thing," Ulrich reminded him angrily.

Odd threw his hands in the air. "And I'm regretting, apparently!" He whirled away from the others. "What'll happen if they find all of us? What do they bloody want anyway?!"

"That, Mr. Della-Robera, something for my wolves to know, and you to discover in all good time."

As one, all four of them spun around as a smooth, polite voice spoke from behind them. A tall man in a grey overcoat moved slowly forward, half of his face shadowed by the elegant top hat he wore. With every other step, the sharp click of his cane echoed around the room.

Yumi let an almost in audible growl under her breath. Odd and Ulrich glanced at each other nonplussed.

"And you are?" Ulrich asked wryly, folding his arms.

"P-professor Henabel?!"

Jeremie's eyes were as wide as sauces as he stared at the man who had come in. The man in grey slowly turned his head, and smiled slightly. "Belpois. Perhaps we should inform your friends of what's going on?"

"We?!"

In unison, all three of the others backed up as if Jeremie was on fire. Unaware of this, Jeremie stared at the man before him. "Wh-what are you doing, Professor? What's going on?!"

Henabel chuckled softly, as if Jeremie was a child who asked a silly question. "My boy...how can you not know? You are the one who gave me the idea to seek out the girl."

"What have you done with Aelita?!" Yumi hissed, leaping forward, her hands out as if to strike him. Henabel took a step back, sliding easily out of her way.

"I have done nothing with her. My wolves have taken her into custody, but she is safe."

"Like hell she is," Ulrich snapped, stepping protectively in front of Yumi. "And what the hell do you want with us?!" He slid a glance over at Jeremie who still looked stricken, frozen in place.

Henabel smiled slowly again. "You, young warrior will fine out soon enough, if you behave. The lot of you will come with us now."

Jeremie finally seem to shake of his stupor. "No, no they're not."

"Shut your face, you bloody traitor!" Odd snapped, shoving Jeremie out of the way. Jeremie whirled about to face him, but Henabel spoke before he could begin.

"Gentlemen, we have no time. In fact, you're all almost out of time." He tapped the floor with his cane.

Odd winced suddenly, and realization dawned in his purple eyes, followed quickly by pure fear. He took a step back.

"You..." His eyes focused on the cane the man was holding. "I know your voice, you-"

Ulrich folded his arms and cut off his friend, addressing Henabel instead. "You kidnapped Aelita, and you think we're just going to go quietly?"

"You were the one talking to Delmas," Jeremie said suddenly, as if Ulrich hadn't spoken. "We heard you. Why do you want all of us?! What do you-"

The man in gray sighed at Jeremie's furious questioning, and held up a hand in the air. "You, children, try my patience." He snapped his fingers.

Smoke, black and thick, filled the room. Jeremie caught it full in the face, and doubled over, harsh coughs bursting in his throat.

"The bloody-" Ulrich was next to start coughing, followed by Odd, then Yumi.

"What...why are you...doing...doing this?" It was she who was still able to focus her furious gaze on the man in grey, barely visible now through the haze.

The man smiled slowly as he watched the four of them slowly collapse to the floor.. "For paradise, my dear. For paradise."

10101010101010101

Her skin burned, hissed as if her body was one massive salted wound. She couldn't hear anything, something thudding the ground under her, like heavy footsteps. She took a deep breath in, then let it out as coughs racked her lungs. The back of her head stung as if someone had tried to pull her hair out at the roots.

Under it all, a dull sense of dread swum in her stomach.

After a moment, the burning faded slightly, and she was able to swallow enough air without coughing. Slowly, she opened her eyes, blinking.

Where ever she was, she noticed instantly, it was almost pitch black. Dirty grey light came from somewhere, filtering around her but showing her nothing. Slowly she began to realize that a soft tapping sound was coming from somewhere behind her. Risking the possibility of pain, she sat up slowly, and tried to look around better.

A large lumpy shape was a few feet away from her, laying quite still on the ground. Her nose twitched, and then she gulped as a terrible smell insulted her nose. Coughing again she turned her head back around. What ever the still thing was, it smelled like an open grave.

The steady quiet tapping sound persisted, although now it seemed to have moved to an area to her left. The floor beneath her, which felt like stone, shivered slightly. Aelita gasped, only to fall back and hit her head. Pain blasted through her again, and she lay quite still for a moment, trying to catch her breath and her thoughts.

"Where...where am I?" She wondered, barely aware she was talking aloud. Casting her memory back, she winced and shuddered. THe pain of being hauled away, the sound and sight of Jeremie trying desperately to chase after her, only to be stopped by one of her capturers. "Jeremie..." Guilt and fear made a lump in her throat at the thought of him. "I hope...he's...n-not...not..." She couldn't even bring herself to finish the idea, and pushed it out of her head. Curling up, hugging her knees to her chest, she wished for some sign, some knowledge of her friends, her location, anything. A sob tried to force it's way into her throat, but she pushed it back, pressing a hand to her chest as if it burned.

A jolt struck her hand, shivering down her arm. Aelita gasped and jumped back.

"W...what was..." Frowning, she glanced around, her heart pounding. There was nothing that had changed, as far as she could see. There was just the shapeless lump in the corner, the thin grey light coming from somewhere...and her. Torn between confusion and curiosity, her hands fluttered to her thudding heart.

A sharp spark lashed up her fingers, over her skin. For a moment, it seemed that a bright pink light flashed from her fingertips.

"What...what was that?" Eyes wide, Aelita gentle touched a hand to her chest. Once again a jolt shivered over her skin, a little gentler this time. Pink light, neon and flickering, light over her hand for a moment. "I...Impossible..."

Holding her hands up, she watched as the sparks slowly faded. The light cast a glow over the room, and for a moment, Aelita looked up, wondering if she could see where she actually was.

The light fell on the still lump a few feet away.

Horror sliced up her spine and Aelita let out a scream even as the light faded. She scooted back, bile rising in her throat.

Dead bodies, stacked up, littered the floor.

The pink light shimmered into being again, and terror joined the jolt of the strange power on her skin. On the far wall, behind the bodies, words were written in red, as if they were blood. Her throat closing up in fear, Aelita forced herself to raise her still glowing hands, trying to read the message.

"...paradise...no...commanders, we gods of time...bring all to an...'" the last section of the message sent a hard chill up her spine as the light dimmed. Fighting down the bile, she continued, the last part of the message dripping to the floor in a steady tapping sound.

"To an eternal paradise...on a bloodstained path."

Her eyes wide with fear, Aelita stared blindly into the darkness towards where the message had been.

"The Carthage Project. My father was right. They will build a heaven paved with bloody footprints."


	24. Chapter 24

The room had gone dark once again, yet Aelita stood stock still, her eyes locked on the area where the bloody message had been written. Placing her hand to her chest, she felt the jolt, the strange tingle of power that seem to react stronger each time. Her heart pounded in her ears, pulsing against the Virtual Timepiece nestled against her skin.

The Timepiece!

Aelita's eyes went wide and she loosened the neckline of her dress enough to reach the small clock. Relief spread through her. "At least this...this is safe," she whispered, a shudder coursing through at the thought of the thugs who captured her getting ahold of thing. Sighing, she gently touched the cool metal. Sparks, pink and bright, flickered from the contact and she gasped.

"That's...that's causing the reaction?!" Perplexed, Aelita gently pulled the Timepiece out and held it. Sure enough, sparks danced from every point of contact between her hands and the Timepiece. Now, with both hands on it, the thing pulsed like a light, a small, shimmering beacon in the dark room. "But...how?! How could this..."

A loud thud came from somewhere behind her, and panic spurted up her spine. Aelita quickly slid the Timepiece back into the bodice of her dress and laid back down on the cold floor. The stones shook with heavy footsteps, and gruff male voices drifted towards her.

"The Doctor 'imself said to leave 'er be!"

"Don't you think I know that? But Mr. Gray says he heard a scream, so he sent me to check. Not you, you blitherin' idiot."

A loud metallic bang echoed somewhere close by, like a large lock being moved, and Aelita squeezed tighter into a tiny ball on the floor, trying to act asleep. It was impossible for her to tell where her speeding heartbeat stopped and steady quick pulse of the Timepiece began.

"Gray's back?!" A tinge of fear trickled into the speaker's voice. This Aelita understood perfectly, the memory of the drunken thug who had tried to capture them floating back into her mind. Aelita shivered and tried to close her eyes. The smell of the blood and the corpses, only a few feet away, was making her head spin.

"Yeah, he just got back, he's waitin' for the Doctor."

The first speaker snorted, and the sound of a heavy door opening echoed. Weak light pushed against Aelita's closed eyelids, and she felt a rush of slightly warmer air move over her face.

"But where's the-"

"Shut it. I can't bloody see in here. Where's the sacrifice?"

The two men's footsteps slowly came closer.

"I think yer hearin' things, let's get outta here before Gray finds us."

"Shut it! We're supposed to guard the sacrifices, remember?" A dark chuckle came from somewhere behind Aelita. "If guardin' her means gettin' this close, maybe we can 'ave some fun."

Aelita's skin crawled and she fought to stay perfectly still.

"With a bloody mad sacrifice? You mental?" Another snort, this time in disgust, sounded from the second speaker. "Gray says she's off her rocker, and if the Doctor finds out you spoiled 'er, he'll have your head."

One pair of heavy footsteps came closer, until she could feel the tip of a boot touch the tip of her nose. "If he doesn't find out, then who's ter- OY!" The conniving guard yelled in pain, but neither noticed Aelita's fingers snake back to her side, as if she had never moved.

The hurt guard's friend sniggered. "You step on a nail or something, you git?! You'll wake her up, and then what'll we do?!"

"Something bit my bloody ankle!"

"Too bad it wasn't a poison snake."

"Shut it. Let's go."

"Scared of a snake?"

"Shut it!"

Bickering all the way, the two guards stormed out, slamming the door behind them.

Aelita's finger's hurt slightly from pushing her nails into the man's skin, but she ignored it. The triumph of scaring the two guards away quickly faded as the conversion she had just overheard began to sink in.

A sacrifice? Her eyes now wide against the darkness, Aelita stayed quite still. If she stayed here, would she end up being another body in the corner of the room? Her eyes narrowed and she sat up slowly and looked around again.

There was a tiny speck of light, flickering in front of her. Her legs protested painfully when she tried to stand, and she hissed with annoyance. Pushing pride out of the way, Aelita was able to push her way onto her knees so she could crawl forward. Her dress pulled and ripped as she went, but the only thing she focused on was that little light.

It was a keyhole. A tiny spark of hope flickered in the back of her head, and she felt her heart beat kick up again.

"No." She barely whispered the word to herself, repeating it like a mantra. "No. Panicking will not get me anywhere." Listening for a moment for footsteps, she gently put her hand out, and pushed at the door.

With a soft creak, the door slid open a few inches. Barely believing her luck, Aelita smiled humorlessly and forced herself to stand.

"We'll see who'll be the sacrifice now," she muttered, and silently slid out of the room.

1010101010101010101

The first thing Jeremie recognized as he awoke was the sound of steam. A soft hissing sound spouted from somewhere, followed by a steady rolling sound, as if massive wheels churned just below him. Much closer, he heard the sound a human groan in pain. Someone swore, and Jeremie forced himself to open his eyes.

Everything was slightly blurry, but as he sat up, he could make out the outline of other people. One was laying down, quite near to him. The spiked up blond hair and filthy purple jacket marked him as Odd. Looking up, Jeremie thought he saw Yumi and Ulrich sitting far off against a wall.

HIs blurry vision made his head swim, and Jeremie lay back down for a moment, breathing in time to the sound of gears spinning below him. Before he closed his eyes, he thought he could hear voices off in the distance, whispering.

...

Against the far wall, Ulrich held his pounding head in his hands, trying to get his mind to function. Instead, he kept glancing to the side, where Yumi sat. She was staring off into the distance, as if mesmerized by the dim ceiling above them. She had been already awake when he had opened his eyes, but she hadn't moved at all since then.

The silence in the room, broken only by the steady drum of machinery he couldn't see from their tiny windowless room, began to make his head hurt anew.

"...The first letter I sent you told you why we left," he said softly, almost as if he was talking to himself. "They pulled us out towards Kyoto without warning. And then I wrote to you again a few weeks later."

Yumi didn't reply, although she moved slightly, and was now looking at her own hands. Ulrich continued, feeling as if he was compelled to do so, to fill the silence. To be honest.

To get her to talk. Anything.

"You told me William never delivered them." And that he lied and told you I was dead. "It's fitting then. He died himself a week before we left for home."

Yumi's head jerked up slightly at this. "Speaking ill of the dead invites in a demon," she murmured, and Ulrich nodded.

"It does. But he lied to you." His mouth thinned in an angry line. "I don't know why."

"He told me you had gotten a fatal head wound," Yumi said suddenly, her own hands balling into fists in her skirt. There was a strange hitch in her voice now. Ulrich leaned closer, trying to see her expression. The thought of her about to cry made his stomach muscles clench painfully, yet he kept his mouth shut. Who was he to try and comfort her? Her head turned slightly, and Ulrich felt the breath he hadn't realized he had been hold burst out of his lungs. There were no tears in her eyes, just fury. Shame and fury. "He came, found me...found me the stable where the soldier's used to sleep." A small, angry smile appeared on her full lips. "Told me about how he tried to save you." Ulrich stared at her. "He wasn't even the same area the day I got this," he told her, gesturing to his wounded eye. Finally, slowly, she looked at him, full in the face. Something, a warm fist, punched its way into his gut.

He had been wrong again. There was a tear, a single tear on her face. His eyes narrowed. "It's good the bastard died," he said softly, finally voicing the thought that had been in his mind for what felt like eons. "I'd bloody track him down and-" Yumi was shaking her head, and he stopped.

"No, it was a blessing in hiding," she said softly, and smiled sadly. "The...the idea of you being dead..." She bit her lip, then continued. "My family sent me away after a week, and my father arranged me hidden trip here. I was...useless to them."

"Useless?" Ulrich stared at her. "What do you..."

Yumi looked at him again, and after a second, she gingerly laid a hand over his. "Ulrich, you were my...I mean, you were a lonely hero then, the only solider who lowered himself to talk to me. To be told you were dead..." Another tear slipped from under her long eyelashes before she could stop it. She cursed softly in Japanese and lowered her head.

My lonely hero. Is that what she was about to say? A strange feeling came over him as he stared at her. The warm of her hand over his seeped into his brain, and he found it very had to form words.

"Yumi..."

For a moment, the girl seemed to have frozen solid. "Ulrich...there's something wrong here." Ulrich blinked at her. It sounded as if her teeth were clenched.

"W-what do you mean?" Her hand in his was now holding his far too tightly, making pain jump up his arm. He winced, but held on. "Yumi?"

She covered her forehead with her freehand as her pale complexion began to turn white. "We have to hide," she whispered, looking up suddenly. She looked as if she was about to be sick. "Can't you feel it, Ulrich? There...there is a demon coming!"

"Yumi-what-"

Without warning, a high screech of sound blasted into their ears, screaming in beats like a fire alarm. Across the room, Odd swore loudly and rolled over, while Jeremie sat up, squinting without his glasses. Yumi was suddenly on her feet, one hand going to the knife in her boot.

"What...what was that?!" Ulrich scrambled to his feet, suddenly as off balance and tense as he had been battling Samurai thugs back in Japan.

Suddenly a creaking sound was heard, along with a series of strange metallic thuds. A door at the end of the room flew open. Yumi bit back a scream of fear, her eyes going as wide as saucers.

"What the bloody hell is that?!"

Odd was now on his feet too, staring at the mental monstrosity that had come into their cell. Made of madly spinning wheels and gears, the thing stood taller then all of them, and and growled like a sick and dangerous animal. A blast went off near the head of thing, and Ulrich dove out of the way as a spray of projectiles spit in his direction.

"Look out, it's going to shoot again!" Jeremie had found his glasses and ducked when the monster fired at him. Odd glared at Jeremie.

"I should shove you at it, you bloody traitor!" He snared then yelped and dove out of the way from the next set of projectiles. Jeremie shot a glare at Odd, but shook his head.

"There's not time for that, Oddric," Yumi snapped, grabbing the blond man's arm. "It is trying to kill him too, so lets just worry about all of us surviving, finding away out of here."

"We need to find Aelita!" Jeremie tried to sneak around the thing's spindly legs, only to curse when it tried to fire at him. "She must be somewhere in here!"

"You're part of their game, genius, you tell us where she is then!" Odd snapped, yanking his arm from Yumi's grip. "Don't defend the damn traitor, Yumi! Stop being soft!"

"Soft?!" Yumi looked like she was going to spit projectiles of her own as she whirled to scowl at him.

"Lets go!"

Yumi, Odd and Ulrich all whirled around at the sound of Jeremie's muffled yell. "What?"

Jeremie had found a way around the monster's legs, and waved at the other three. "Come on!"

Odd glared daggers at the three of them and backed up. "Hell no, I'm not-"

"ODDRIC!" Together, Yumi and Ulrich grabbed Odd's arms and pulled him through the doorway before the monster could turn around.


	25. Chapter 25

The alarm continued to sound, echoing down the long shadowed hallway that Jeremie, Odd, Yumi and Ulrich found themselves in. Behind them, they could hear the sound of the massive metal monster that had attracted them trying to turn itself around in order to chase after them.

"Now what?!" Ulrich looked wildly about, then stared when Yumi pushed past him, going to the left. "Wait!"

Yumi looked back at him, her eyes determined despite the fear. "No time to wait, this way!"

"How does she know?!" Odd snapped, shaking his head as he glanced over his shoulder at the room where they had come out of. "And where the bloody hell are we?!"

"A factory of some kind," Jeremie puffed behind him, trying to keep up. "Judging by the sound of the production floor below."

Odd slid a scowl back at him. "I wasn't asking you, traitor."

Jeremie scowled right back. "Would getting hit on the head again help bring back your sanity, you dolt?!" He snapped, at the end of patience. "I'm not a traitor! What happened before-"

"You two are losing breath arguing," Yumi called, her voice firm despite the situation. Ulrich was now far ahead of them, at the end of the corridor. Jeremie nodded and continued, while Odd just glared as he tried to speed up.

"That thing will follow us," he said after a moment, glancing back again. "It's already out of the door! Damn, the thing is as loud as it's ugly."

"I can't hear anything," Ulrich panted as they reached him.

"That's because you were half a blasted way ahead of us, Stern," Odd gasped, leaning against the wall. "How'd you-"

"Let's go!" Yumi backed up. "Odd's right, whatever that...that monster is, it's coming!" They all looked back to see the tall crab like creature crawl quickly down the hall, bumping into the wall every few steps.

"What if...if Aelita met one of those things?" Frozen in fear, Jeremie stared.

"Then it'd have a knife in it's head," Odd snapped, pushing Jeremie forward. "Blast it, Professor, move your-"

The alarm blast cut off what ever he was about to say, and with one wide-eyed glance backwards, the four of them surged onward.

The hallways never seemed to change, to end. The alarm went on over their footsteps, the sound of the monster, the rumbling of the factory.

Just keep running, Jeremie told himself, trying to find enough breath to breathe. Don't stop, don't look back, don't think. Just run.

Suddenly, Ulrich stopped, and the other three slowed. "Dead...dead end..." Gasped Odd, glancing back. "There should be a door, or..." He looked over at Yumi, who had both hands flat against the wall. "Yumi? What are you doin'?!"

"A seam. I can feel the air. There's a weak point. It might be a hidden door!"

"Hidden door?!" Odd let out a snort, but the humor was lost as the sounds of the monster that trailed them grew closer. "You're even more mad than Aelita! We're going to be crab food, that's what we are, we-"

"Shut it!" Jeremie snapped, just as Yumi gasped and took a step back.

Odd opened his mouth to reply, then looked at the place in the wall where Yumi had been moments ago. A large dent was in the wall, and sure enough, there was an opening.

"Did you do that?" Ulrich was staring, slack jawed, at the hole in the wall. Yumi was quite pale, and staring at her hands.

"I...I..." she looked at the dent. "That cannot be, I barely touched the thing, but-"

"No time!" Now it was Ulrich who grabbed Yumi's arm, and together, they shoved the door the rest of the way open.

"Go! Go!" Odd bellowed, glancing back to see the metallic monster rounding the corner. Together, they ran through the opening, blinking as a bright yellow glow invaded their sight.

"No, stop!"

Yumi skidded to a halt, and flung her arms out, pulling Ulrich back with her. Eyes wide, she stared down, far far down, into a mechanical abyss.

More than five giant sets of gears and levers worked steadily, churning over what looked like a barely contained vat of fire and smoke and steam. The noise was deafening, and a smell of metal burnt their noses. Odd started coughing violently and backed up a step. There was only a single short railing between them and the factory floor below.

"It is a factory!" Jeremie exclaimed softly, pushing his glasses up. "It's...Ulrich?" Realizing that the solider wasn't standing by Yumi anymore, he looked back. Ulrich was flat against the wall, his good eye as round as a saucer. "Are you alright?"

"Fine!" The snapped reply sounded hoarse, but Ulrich nodded just the same. "Fine!" His hands going into fists, he took a small step away from the wall and looked at Yumi. "Where to now?"

Odd answered for her, putting a finger in the air. "Anywhere but here, mate." He coughed again, then poked Yumi, glancing behind them at the way they had came. "You're not afraid of a little height, right Yumi?"

"Odd..." Ulrich grumbled warningly, but a banging from the other side of the wall made them all jump. Without a word, Yumi turned and went to the left, never glancing to the side, where the drop off was. As they went, the noise and light of the production floor below seemed to blur together. Underneath it all, Jeremie thought he could hear voices speaking, shouting. Despite the heat blasting from below, a chill went down his spine. He could barely hear his own footsteps, how could he be hearing anyone else's voice?

No. It wasn't speaking. He hear screaming.

"Stop!"

The other three ahead of him slowed down, glancing back. "Belpois?!" Ulrich stared at him in confusion.

"Ah, let the traitor meet the monster," Odd snapped, and moved around the other two to continue on along the path. Jeremie didn't seem to hear this, staring out into the hellish factory below.

"Can't you hear it?!" Jeremie shook his head, his eyes wide. "Aelita's down there!"

"What?!" Yumi stared at him. "Belpois, how could you know this, it's impossible!"

Jeremie shook his head. "I...I just heard her. Or someone..."

"You're as mad as she is," Odd shouted from a few feet away. Ulrich's lips quirked slightly.

"LIstening after all," he muttered, and shook his head. "Listen, Belpois, Yumi's right. How can you hear Aelita in all that mess?" He waved an arm towards the abyss below. "And what if Odd's right?" His eyes narrowed. "How are we supposed to trust you, anyway?"

Jeremie stared at him, then threw his hands in the air. "I don't care!" The other three stared at him, and their incredulous looks only made him angrier. "This isn't about you and your blasted trust issues! Aelita's been captured, and all you lot care about is your own bloody skins! She's your cousin!" He added, glaring at Odd. "And your best friend!" He looked at Yumi. "Even if you've forgotten her, I'm not going to!" With that, Jeremie spun on his heel and ran back the way they had came.

101010101010101

"Five turns to the left...one to the right...blast, bloody lost again!"

Her head pounding, Aelita glared at the third dead end she had come across. "If Yumi-chan was here, we'd be gone by now!" Glancing over her shoulder, she shivered. She could have sworn the shadows moved. "Maybe the others were right, and I am going mad." Sighing, she turned around to go back the way she came.

Round and round the mad child goes, follow the footprints and no one will know.

"What?"

Aelita blinked and looked around. "I could have sworn..." Fear prickled up her spine. Was someone coming? She couldn't hear any footsteps, yet...

No, there was something. A soft creaking, a ticking noise. Frowning, Aelita glanced behind her.

An angry red light shimmered to life out of nowhere, and started moving towards her. Aelita bit back a scream, backing up.

"W...what on earth?" The thing stepped into the shadowed, and disgust and horror tingled up her spine. The thing looked like a giant insect, like a metal beetle that had been striped down to it's skeleton alone. Where it's face should have been was a single red light. It let out a hissing sound suddenly, and leapt at her.

"No!" Aelita threw up her arms and ducked, and the thing missed her. Not wasting time to see if it had survived it's impact against the wall, she turned and fled.

The ticking sound followed, and Aelita ran blindly. Her footsteps echoed, sounding as if there was someone else running behind her. The walls blurred, all the same, the shadows chasing beside her.

Suddenly, her hands met solid wall. Another dead end.

"No!" Aelita spun to stare at the monster that had followed her. "I...there has to be..." the thing let out a hissing noise again, and Aelita felt something sharp bite into her side as the monster's light flashed. It was shooting at her! Cursing, Aelita dodged blindly, trying to reach her knife. If only she could hit the thing, knock it back...

Without warning, the thing hissed again, and dove at her. Aelita's mind went blank, and with a shriek, she flung her hands out.

Something moved in her heart, and an almost painfully strong heat moved from her chest into her head. A voice sung in her ears, making her mind hurt. Or was it she who was singing or screaming? The heat in her head raced through her body, into her arms, her fingers.

Bright neon pink sparks flashed from her hands, hitting the monster head on. The thing flew back a few feet, landing in a smoking pile.

Eyes wide, shaking like a leaf, Aelita stared in shock. "W...what?" Her heart was still pounding hard, and her mind felt like it had been put through a sieve.

"A-Aelita?!"

Panic shot up her spine and Aelita looked up, taking a step back against the wall again. There was someone, standing there, but in the shadows, she could barely make it out. Her eyes narrowed and she reached for her knife.

"Who's there?!"

"Aelita! It's...it's me. J-Jeremie Belpois. So you were brought here too!"

Aelita's eyes widened. "You...how'd you get here?! And..." Her eyes fell on the strange monster that she had someone just reduced to a pile of charred metal.

"How did you do that?"

So much for pretending she hadn't done anything strange. Aelita winced. "I...I'm not sure. But why are you here? And what about Yumi and the others?"

Stepping closer, she noticed that he certainly looked like he had been there a while. Black spots and tatters were scattered over his clothes, and one lens of his glasses was cracked.

Jeremie's eyes narrowed, and they flashed angrily. "The others are here too," he said after a moment, and Aelita gasped. "Someone...someone I thought I trusted tricked us all, and we were brought here. I'm not sure where they are right now, I left them..." He trailed off and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Somewhere above us." He looked up at her again. "There's more than one of these metal monsters hiding here, but the one that chased us looks much different..."

"There's more?!" The thought sent a chill down Aelita's spine. "And...who brought you here?"

Jeremie opened his mouth to reply, then winced, glancing over his shoulder. "We should go, I'll explain on the way." Aelita hesitated, then nodded, stepping around the remains of the monster and following him down the corridor.

The shadows were there, yet, they seemed lessoned now that she wasn't alone. Jeremie's voice, although barely above a whisper so they would avoid detection, seemed to calm the paranoia that had stalked her heart since she had woken up in that dark room earlier. The more he explained, however, the more her head spun.

"You think the man we heard talking to Delmas did this?!" Aelita shook her head. "A professor from Cambridge? That...it doesn't make any sense! Why would he be here, and why would he...do this?"

Jeremie's lips went thin and his eyes narrowed. "I don't know. But I'm going to find out. I thought I knew him, but apparently I was wrong."

"And the others are being chased by another of those monsters?"

Jeremie nodded. "Although, when I left them, I didn't see it." And I was stupid enough to just go back where it had been, he realized, and shook his head. "None of this makes sense. We're in a factory, Aelita, but none of the factories could be this big. Unless..." He frowned, and looked up. "Unless..."

"Unless what?" Jeremie stopped, and Aelita stopped as well, watching him. He was staring at the ceiling.

"I...I thought I heard something..." Suddenly, a loud clicking sound erupted from behind them, and they both spun. A huge shape loomed over them, and Jeremie let out a yell. "Its one of those things again!" Not thinking, he grabbed Aelita's hand and they raced off again down the hallways.

"What are they?!" Aelita gasped, not daring to glance behind. "They're made out of metal, but-" Then her eyes widened, and she stopped dead.

"Aelita?! Aelita what are you-"

"They're automations."

Her face set, Aelita turned around to face the tall crab like monster that stalked them. It came closer, slowing down as they did. For a moment, it seemed to look at her curiously, like an animal.

"Aelita, it'll kill you, we have to run!"

"No..." Her eyes narrowed in concentration. "It has a weak spot. You've seen this kind before, Jeremie, where does it attack from?"

Jeremie stared at her, trying to make his mind catch up. "It...from the front." Squinting, he pointed, wincing when the thing moved again. "It's going to fire, Aelita, what are you-"

Moving faster than he thought possible, Aelita slipped under the thing's front leg and stabbed it in between it's three eye-like shooters.

A loud hissing sound emitted from it, and Aelita shrieked, jumping back and pulling Jeremie with her. The next second, red sparks spat from where Aelita had hit and the thing collapsed.

"That...that was brilliant!" Jeremie beamed at her, relief and awe practically shinning from his face.

Aelita let out a laugh, and without thinking, grabbed Jeremie and planted a kiss firmly on his mouth.

A spark that had nothing to do with the monster behind them raced over her, and Aelita gasped, jumping back.

"I...I...I'm sorry...I..."

Jeremie seemed to have frozen completely, and Aelita felt her face turn red.

"I...W-we should go now!" Cursing herself mentally and trying to ignore the strange warmth still sizzling down her spine, she hurried forward, into the shadows of the corridors ahead.

101010101

"I can't believe the bloody git just up and ran off! Idiot! He's probably monster meat by now."

"Odd, you were the one who kept jumping on him about being a traitor, so why-"

"Shut it, Ulrich. And what do you care? Did you bloody believe him?!"

Yumi glanced back at Ulrich and Odd, who were now walking side by side and arguing the whole time. For the first time, she actually wished they were back in the factory area so she wouldn't be able to hear them as well.

"The monster seems to have given up," she said after a moment. "Do you two have idea which factory we'd be in?"

Ulrich shrugged, just as Odd rolled his eyes. "Yumi, there's over ten factories just one part of London, and for all we know, Belpois's friend could have brought us miles away from there." His eyes narrowed slightly. "And I wouldn't bet your heart about that monster, miss. I hear something." His lip curled and glanced around. "But it doesn't sound like that thing. Not loud enough."

Ulrich stared at him. "What are you talking about?! I don't hear anything, except you, and I wish I didn't." Odd ignore the insult and put a finger to his lips.

"It..." His eyes widened. "What the hell..." He straightened, and hurried silently down the corridor ahead of them. "Screaming?"

A chill went down Yumi's spine. Was it Jeremie who had been hearing voices earlier?

"Odd?!" Ulrich stared after his friend. "You've gone bad as your uncle or what?"

Odd snorted. "Don't you put me in league with that bloody madman. No, I'm not-" Suddenly he cut off, gasping. Light flooded the corridor as a door suddenly opened where he was.

"Odd!" Yumi hissed, crouching and moving forward quickly. "What did you do?!"

"Nothing!" Odd gently pushed the door further open and poked his head in. "It just...opened..." Unable to stop his curiosity, Odd slipped through. Cursing under his breath, Ulrich followed him, along with Yumi. "If we have to bloody save your skin, you..." Ulrich's threat died on his lips as he emerged into the next room.

It was wide circular room, lit by a mass of candles on the walls. Walking further into the room, Ulrich tripped. Cursing, he looked down.

"The...what the hell is this?" He stared at the strange set of grooves cut into the stone floor. Three circles, outlined by four lines, one at one end, and three at the other, all point in different directions.

Odd looked down as well, and made a face. "What is this, a madman's alter?" He snorted. "Right, Yumi?" Silence. "Yumi?" He looked back. Yumi was barely inside the room, her eyes wide in a very pale face.

"Yumi?" A note of concern entered Odd's voice, and Ulrich spun.

"This place...this place is evil." She shook her head slowly, her hands grasped together. "We...we are in danger here. There's demons from this place. I..."

Ulrich moved forward until he was right in front of her. "Yumi, what do you mean?" When she barely seemed to notice him, Ulrich gently took her hands in his. The contact made her jolt, and she stared at him, almost as if seeing him for the first time. "Yumi, what do you mean, this place is evil? How do you know?"

Yumi shook her head slowly again. "It's...I can feel it. It is...in my mind." She winced and but didn't pull her hands from his. "I know I sound quite insane. But..."

"Uh oh..." Behind them, Odd cursed. "Maybe you're not so bonkers after all, Yumi." The sound of a door opening hit their ears, and Ulrich turned in time to see part of the wall moving, sliding aside.

Four large metal monsters like the one that had chased them emerged. Odd let out a growl and went back into a street fighter's stance. Yumi broke away from Ulrich, whirling to face one of the things.

"How do we fight these damn things?!" Ulrich snapped, his hands in fists as one of the monsters started to shoot. He dove out of the way, ending up to be back to back with Yumi.

"There's a weak spot...there has to be!" Odd scowled and circled around, slipping under the legs of one of the monsters. Hissing, he jammed one his knives into the under belly of thing, only to curse when the weapon bounced of the monster without harming it.

Yumi let a high yell and leapt at one of the things, spinning to avoid a blast. Grabbing one of the small candelabras in the niches on the wall, she slammed against the monster's front, knocking one of the eye-like shooters the side.

"Perfect!" Odd let out a yelp, together, the three circled around, trying to stop take out the enemy.

"Round and round the sacrifices go, will they stop, yes or no?"

"What?!"

Yumi's knife embedded itself in the front of one of the monsters, and it collapsed. She barely noticed, whirling about. "Who was that?!"

"Round and round the footsteps go, pretty little corpses all in a row."

Now it was Odd who pulled back, staring about. "Did you hear-"

Ulrich let out a yelp, hit in the back by on of the monsters. "Ulrich!" Yumi ran to him, dropping her knife. "Are you alright?"

Suddenly, the remaining three monsters froze. Odd backed up, joining the other two in the center of the room.

"How apt. You all go around, but all remain in the same place. Perhaps you are worthy sacrifices after. Not the honored one, but still."

"Who the bloody hell are you!" Odd snapped, look around. "Ghosts shouldn't make threats!"

"Ghost?" A soft chuckle echoed around the room, and suddenly, the man in gray appeared in front of them, swept in a low bow.

"You!" Yumi let out a screech and tried to dive at the man. "You've taken Aelita! Where is she! What have you done with her?!"

The man's eyes narrowed. "YOu mean our honored sacrifice? She's about...it was she who set off the alarm, after all. Her escape is all planned, she'll find her way here. Not like you should care."

"Honored sacrifice? What the hell are you talking about?!" Ulrich snapped, pulling Yumi back. "And who are you? Jeremie called you Professor something, but-"

The man swept a bow again. "What your...friend believes is nothing of your worries. Not like you can trust him, yes?"

Yumi narrowed her eyes. "That's what you want, is it not, Professor?" She stood slowly. "He didn't lead you to us, you followed him. What have you done with him and Aelita?!"

The man shrugged. "I believe they'll find themselves going in circles soon enough. Although you shouldn't care, my dear. She's been lying to you."

"As if we could believe you," Odd snapped, bearing his teething in a hiss. "What have you-"

"Her name isn't Aelita Stones. It's not even Aelita Hopper, as you were lead to believe, little man." Odd snarled at the nickname, but Henabel ignored him. "It's Aelita Shaffer, the daughter of the most infamous traitor and madman of science." His eyes narrowed. "The thief of the Virtual Timepiece. That clock belongs to the Carthage Brotherhood and no one else!"

"That's madness!" Yumi stared at him. "She's never lied, she wouldn't-"

"Ask her, foreigner," the man in gray replied gently, as if she was a child. "Not like it matters. She'll lie again anyway. But we have forgiveness in our hearts, even for her, and for you, fools and liars and foreigners."

"Forgiveness?!" Odd spat at feet of the man, standing slowly. "What the bloody-"

"Like her, you will also be able to be taste paradise. Our beautiful paradise..." He flung out his arms. "Be welcomed into Carthage, children. I am Xander Hannibal, father of the Brotherhood of Carthage, and I shall be your leader into heaven!"


	26. Chapter 26

"I do believe we've seen this corner before."

Not for the first time, Jeremie looked sidelong over at Aelita with a mix of frustration, admiration and disbelief. The pink haired girl next to him continued to mutter softly, and either to him or her own self, he couldn't tell.

"Now, if the automatons all came from this direction, that means we're getting close. In theory."

"We're going towards the ones sending those at us?" Jeremie tried not to gulp. "Are you sure that's-"

Aelita held a finger to her lips, and Jeremie shushed.

"It would make sense," she whispered, after a moment. It was like she had never even heard what he had said. "They obviously know someone's escaped." She bit her lip thoughtfully. "Unless they just let those things wander about the building."

"But-"

Finally Aelita paused, glancing around a corner. "We need to be careful now. The paths are all sloping downward." She frowned. "A strange factory indeed, without stairways."

"Perhaps we're descending into hell itself," Jeremie muttered darkly, then winced, hoping Aelita hadn't heard him.

In fact, she barely reacted, tiptoeing forward. "Where did you say the others were?"

Jeremie blinked. So she hadn't forget he was there, he thought wryly. "Where ever they are, the floor was far above this one. We were above the main floor of the factory, at least four or five stories up." Remembering the noise and chaos that production floor, he winced. "If we were near there, you'd hear- what's wrong?" Aelita had frozen, her eyes narrowed in concentration. Slowly, she turned, looking back the way they came.

"Footsteps?" Suddenly, she grabbed Jeremie's hand and pulled him further down the pathway. "Someone is coming!"

Panicked and confused, Jeremie followed her, trying to hear what ever she was hearing. "What is it?"

"Shhh!" Her eyes were focused on the hall way where they had just turned out of.

After a moment, Jeremie too could hear something, a solid thudding sound that was steady getting louder. "It sounds like soldiers," he realized, forgetting he wasn't supposed to talk. Aelita shushed him and clapped a hand over his mouth.

Tall man-shaped shadows began to dance along the walls and suddenly both of them could clearly see what had been making the sound. Were they soldiers? Jeremie squinted, trying not to focus on the warm hand still over his mouth. What ever the group of marchers was, they seemed unusual. A soft whispering emitted from them, but no other sound came, other than their steady footsteps. After a few minutes, the last figure faded from view, and Aelita slowly took her hand from his mouth.

"What...what was that?"

Aelita simply shook her head and stood straight again.

"Aelita?"

Jeremie caught up with her and looked into her face. She seemed calm as she had earlier, only now she was frowning. "What ever they were, there was something off about it," she murmured after a minute. Relief and nervous rose in unison in Jeremie and he nodded.

"I felt the same. They're too quiet...or something."

"Like an army from a nightmare." Aelita bit her lip, then shook her head. "Although that makes little sense. Although we should watch out for them in any case." Jeremie nodded.

"Hopefully the others don't run into them," he admitted. "They shouldn't, yet, since they were so far above this way."

For now, muttered a nasty voice in the back of Jeremie's head. For now.

Aelita nodded, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Good. Hopefully they got out safely. You'll need to do the same, Jeremie, so-"

"No."

Aelita paused, frowning. "What?" Jeremie had stopped dead, and was looking intensely at her.

"I'm not leaving you, Aelita." He shook his head, and steamrollered on when Aelita raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth to argue. "We did that before, Aelita. You tried to keep your friends away, remember?" When she winced slightly, Jeremie kicked himself mentally for hurting her, but it had to be said. "We promised you yesterday, when you first told us to run." He hesitated, then took her hand. "I'm not running away now, either. Not for the monsters, not from anything else."

Aelita's hand stayed in his, and for a moment Jeremie felt a faint thrill that had nothing to do with running from monsters. The quick kiss she had given him before...perhaps he hadn't imagined it. But...No. It was impossible. Her voice flooded into his thoughts, and he struggled to bring his mind back to the present.

"Jeremie, this is too dangerous now." Aelita looked down. "We don't have time to argue about this. I need to stop them!"

"Who?" When Aelita's green eyes flashed in anger, Jeremie took a step closer. "The C...Carthage Project? Isn't that what you said it was? Who's making this so dangerous?"

Aelita gapped at him. "It isn't obvious to you?! Jeremie, you're being chased by monstrous automations, captured by mysterious thugs, getting lost in a massive factory where there's...there's..." piles of corpses just stacked up rooms, Aelita thought, shuddering, but pushed that out of her mind. "This is even worse than before...my father was right. It is the Carthage Brotherhood, and that..." her voice trailed off, the anger in her face fading. Instead, there was a sad, terrified expression, vulnerable and lonely. This was calmness that she had shown before, Jeremie realized suddenly. She had been calm, been almost cheerful, even after the sighting of those eerie solders'.

To hide her fear.

"Aelita, what is the Carthage Project...or Brotherhood or...what ever you said it was?"

Aelita looked away, and for a moment, Jeremie thought she might not answer. "What do you know if it? You said your professor told you about at university."

Jeremie let out a humorless chuckle. "The man who told me about it appears to far less trustworthy than I thought.. But all I know is that they were a group of scientists trying to create or find the Virtual Timepiece."

Aelita's lip curled slightly. "They left science behind centuries ago." Her eyes were sad again. "And a few decades ago, my father was one of them."

Jeremie stared at her.

"The theory of the Virtual Timepiece, according to their Brotherhood," she spat the word like it was poison. "The device is delicate, a piece of clockworkery to be a door, a key, a portal to...to a paradise. A heaven." Her eyes were cold. "They fancied themselves as Gods. Their theory claimed that a human's energy is strongest right after a powerful death. They would use specific people, specific forms of energy, trying to come up with the perfect balance that would react with the Timepiece, and open the door."

The horror of what she was describing slowly was creeping in his brain. "They...they used the dead souls of people?!"

"From the little my father told me of it, they started off trying to justify it. They'd sacrifice the sick, the wounded, the war heros. They were promised salvation despite all they may have done in their life. None of these worked, however, and the Carthage Brotherhood expanded their search for the right energy."

Feeling sick and sad, Jeremie gasped suddenly. "The disappearances. Odd mentioned something about factory workers slowly vanishing, going missing."

Aelita nodded. "It's happening again, here in London. When my...my father joined them as a young man, they were stationed in France, where he was going abroad to university. He called wolves, my father did. They sniff out the young minds, the brilliant ones, the arrogant ones." A sad half smile twisted her lips. "My father was all of those, as...as was my mother. She was French, they met there. I don't know... if she was part of it. Father said women usually were not allowed in, so..." She shook her head. "Then my father was informed who would be the next h-honored sacrifice." She was shaking now, leaning against the wall as if unable to stand up without support. Jeremie reached out to her, but she didn't seem to notice. "My mother had been chosen as a sacrifice by my Father's own partner. Zana something, I think. My father refused to aid them anymore if they didn't chose someone else. And then he fled with my mother to England, taking the plans he had been working on with him, along with his own half-finished attempted at a Timepiece." Aelita put a hand to her chest, and Jeremie thought he saw pink light shimmer for a moment.

"You've kept that same one safe this whole time?!"

Aelita nodded slowly. "If it falls into their hands..." Her voice caught in fear, and she shook her head. "That's why you and others need to leave. You could all be used, be killed by the wolves of the Brotherhood. And that...that can't happen."

"Aelita."

It took a moment, but Aelita slowly looked up at him. To her surprise, there were tears glinting in the blue eyes staring down at her. Was he crying for her? Why? What on earth...Perplexed, she reached up whipped one from under his glasses. He caught her hand and held it in his own.

"What would be worse, Aelita," he said softly, his voice soft and gentle despite the intensity in his gaze. "Far worse, is if they caught you, and used you. And that cannot happen. Let me help you, Aelita. I'll follow you even if you say no," he added after a moment, and a small smile flashed on her lips for a moment.

"I don't even know how to stop them, Jeremie," she admitted after a moment, shaking her head. The fear was surging again, and she struggled to get it under control. "They know I'm here, I'm already set to be the sacrifice."

His hand around hers got tighter. "Then they'll have two."

"No!" Aelita shook her head sharply. "I can't lose you, Jeremie! Why can't you see?! You're too important to me!" When Jeremie's eyes widened slightly, Aelita realized what she had said and felt her face grow warm."...I mean...you are, to me, to the others, to everyone! No, this can't happen."

"Try and stop me," Jeremie replied after a moment, shifting his weight so he was leaning against the wall with her, blocking her off. "You know how stubborn I am, Miss Stones," he murmured, raising his eyebrows at her like she was a bad student. "I believe that we should work together, and then perhaps we shall both survive. In theory."

Despite everything, Aelita's lips quirked, and some of the anger left her face. "In theory. Our lives, our hearts, this city. All in theory." She hesitated, then took a step back, away from the wall. Jeremie watched as some of the strength, the calm, flickered back into her.

"I will take you up on on your survival theory Mr Belpois," she said after a moment. "We've wasted enough time as it is." Her eyes narrowed. "Now, to find the wolf den."

None of it made sense.

Three pairs of eyes stared, almost unseeing, as a tall madman in gray regaled them with his plans.

Keep him talking. Find a way out.

Catching their breath, the three of them refused to look at each other, dimly wondering what the other was thinking.

None of it made sense.

"You're the one who put up the wolf in Aelita's office before!" Yumi accused, her voice threatening to crack. How long had it been since they had come into that room? Now they stood, gathered in the middle, surrounded by metallic monsters.

"And the one in that room that belonged to her father..." Ulrich added.

"Where is my cousin?!" Unlike the other two, Odd barely cared about understanding what was going on. "What the bloody hell have you done with her?!"

Xander Hannibal nodded slowly, leaning heavily forward on his cane like a grandfather. "She will, despite her lies and her father's sins, be given the greatest honor." He guestered randomly. "Despite your skills, you don't seem to have a will to comprehend, do you? A pity. I've already told you what will happen to her. Never you mind, you'll see her. You all will be saved, by the noble mercy of my Carthage Brothers!"

"We don't need your mercy," Ulrich spat, starting forward. One of the monsters shifted in his direction, and Yumi grabbed his arm to hold him still.

"It is madness and murder," she continued for him, glaring at Hannibal. "Not mercy. You are creating a hell for yourself!"

"As if a foreigner such as yourself would understand. A female at that."

"Shut your mouth," Ulrich growled through gritted teeth. "Yumi is-"

A high, shrill scream pierced the air, and all three of them jumped. Hannibal let out a soft exclamation and turned.

"Ah, yes! I almost had forgot. The next sacrifice is coming now." He looked over at them and smiled, as if he was their grandfather about to spoil them. "You are in for an honor. Especially you, solider. I've been told some of your old...brothers in arms... would have enjoyed this."

Ulrich, confused, narrowed his good eye. "What are you talking about?"

"What are you doing?!" Yumi's eyes went wide. "What was that...oh...no..."Her gaze fell to something behind Hannibal and the two boys looked too. One of the lines from the symbol etched into the floor led to a tiny hole in the bottom of the wall. But that wasn't what caused the horror to well up in their throats.

A single stream of red liquid slithered from the hole, then another, flowing into the rest of the strangely shaped canals. For a moment, the whole area, the spirals and lines, filled with blood, shimmering slightly in the candle light. Then, slowly, it vanished, as if sucked into the stone of the floor itself.

Odd made a retching sound, his eyes bloodshot. Yumi's eyes were still trained on the opening, only she was now shaking from head to toe. Ulrich just watched, his good eye almost closed, as the last drops of blood faded.

"The sacrifice takes place each day," Hannibal said after a moment. "My system is brilliant, no? The blood, and the energy with it, goes down to the cell of this building where we will step into paradise." He smiled slowly. "The Timepiece will be finished and opened, and Gods we will become, on this path of bloodshed."

"You are a monstrous, self serving demon who deserves to choke on the blood you've spilt." Yumi took a step towards Hannibal, being careful not to tread inside the lines of the blood cannel on the floor. "And when you go into this paradise of hell that you have created, it's own demons shall destroy you, until there is nothing left but a empty wicked ghost." Her hands twitched, and a glint of metal was seen in her hand. Her knife slipped into her gasp.

"Yumi?!" Ulrich hissed, trying to pul her back. The utter horror that had settled over them didn't wear off and he felt like he was moving through syrup to get to her. "Don't! Stop, you-"

Hannibal raised a hand towards her, almost as if to offer to shake hands. "Foolish girl," he said gently, shaking his head. "You simply do not understand."

"Yumi!" Suddenly, Odd's eyes flashed in fear, and he also moved towards her. "Stop, he'll kill you without even touching you! He's-"

A loud blast echoed suddenly in the room, and Yumi fell backwards with a cry. Ulrich and Odd dodged forward, trying to catch her and watch for enemy fire at the same time.

"Fools!" Hannibal was shouting now. "Your orders were not to fire unless ordered too!" With a snapping sound, smoke filled the room, and Hannibal vanished.

Ulrich tried to raise Yumi's head into his lap. "Yumi, wake up!" Odd was glancing over his shoulder, trying to see through the mist that now half blinded them. "Damnit, Yumi, you didn't have to do that, please wake up!"

"She's still alive, mate," Odd said, watching as Yumi's eyes moved slightly underneath the lids. "Maybe she fainted?"

Panicked, Ulrich shook his head. "That's mental. She wouldn't faint, just like that. She's too strong, too br...I mean, she's not some blasted lady in waiting with fits of vapors or what have you." Odd snorted, but his heart wasn't in it.

"She's alive," he repeated after a second. "So are you." He clapped Ulrich on the shoulder. "We're damn stuck somewhere else now." He shook his head.

"How do you know the door's locked, if-" Ulrich watched Odd look back at the door again, then stopped asking questions. None of it made sense anyhow. "Help me move her away from the middle," he said after a moment, glancing back towards the tiny hole in the wall. "We don't need any more blood on us as it is."

Odd's eyes were sharp as he nodded. "Unless it's Xander Hannibal's."


	27. Chapter 27

"Fire! Fire! Ishyama-sama, get up!"

Yumi's eyes flew open and she sat up with a gasp. "What..." Her mind spun and she stumbled out of her small cot. Her feet hit smooth tatami mats, and a faint orange light shown through the round windows in the sliding door next to her.

Had it all been a dream? She wondered, staggering to the door. She was home, in Japan. With her family. It had all been a dream, all that...madness. She shook her head, and pushed open the door.

Fire burned everywhere in front of her, snaking through the narrow streets of Kyoto. Faces were blurred as people raced by, crying for help. In the distance, she could hear the sound of battle.

Fear and dread, she took a step back. Nothing had changed.

"Yumi-san!"

She wasn't in her bedroom anymore. The fires, the streets, the crowds had gone. Now the smell of old wood and horses met her nose. The stable? She blinked. What on earth?

"Yumi-san!" Someone grabbed her hand, and she spun, her hands out to fight off who ever had her. Instead, she stared into a pair of strange dark eyes, widened and desperate. She stared at the young man, dressed in a British army uniform. "Please, you must listen to me," he continued, as if they had been having a disagreement. "He's gone. Private Stern...he had a fatal wound in his head. I saw it myself." He grabbed her hand again, pulling her close. "I know you're shocked, and I'm sorry, but-" He held out a hand, as if to touch her face.

Ulrich isn't dead.

Yumi jerked back, her eyes narrowing. "William, that...that can not be!"

You've seen him, Yumi. Ulrich's alive. Wake up.

William Dunbar shook his head again. "He's safe, Yumi. In Paradise, I'm sure. He never listened to me, but that doesn't mean he couldn't be saved."

Yumi stared at him. "What are you talking about? Paradise?!"

William never said that when he lied to you about Ulrich's death. Nothing about a Paradise.

Enter Paradise on bloody footsteps.

There was that voice, murmuring in the back of her mind. She frowned and tried to push it away. William was going on as if she hadn't interrupted him. "You could be saved too, Yumi. I told you before, all this would go away. Your family could be safe! Some of the other soldiers, they're my brothers, they'll help you! And then-"

Brothers. Brotherhood.

"No." Yumi took a step back, that warning voice in the back of her mind ringing. "No, what you speak of is not anything that would save anyone, William. Ulrich..." Her throat closed. "He can not be dead. Please. Leave."

"No?!" William's eyes flashed and suddenly the sweetly ernest expression on his face vanished as his lip curled slightly. "Stay in your bloody heathen ways, then Yumi-san." He grabbed her hands. "You would've followed Ulrich, you would've! Don't deny it! Bloody lift you skirts for him, wouldn't you?! You'll condemn both of you to hell, his blood will be on your hands, Yumi!"

"Let me go!" Yumi jerked her hands from his and backed away, tripping over the dirty hem of her kimono. "You...this is madness!"

William threw back his head suddenly, and laughed hollowly. "Madness?! Says the heathen with blood on her hands!"

"My..." Bloody. Bloody footprints. Bloody path to Paradise. Gasping in sudden panic, Yumi glanced down, and stared in horror. Scarlet cascaded down her hands, down her kimono, to the floor. A scream lodged her throat, Yumi staggered backwards, then looked back up at William.

Or what had been William.

Metal gears burst slowly from the small of his back, forcing him to bend almost in two.

"Ulrich missed his chance!" He was still laughing as if unaware of the horrific change taking place in his own skin. "He missed Salvation, joining our troop, our pack, our Brothers!"

No...No...Yumi couldn't move now, couldn't even speak. No...

"Yumi!"

It was impossible, her eyes unable to be torn from the mutilating solider in front of her.

"Yumi! Wake up!"

Yumi's eyes flew open and she sat up, her arms flying out to strike whatever was in front of her.

Warm, gentle hands enveloped her own, and hold them firmly. "Yumi. You're safe. Breathe. You're alright."

Familiar brown eyes warmed in relief as they watched her. Ulrich. His voice slowing the panic, Yumi took a deep breath and pushed back the fear, the horror, the confusion.

"I..." She blinked at him, their faces only a few inches apart. "Ulrich...your eye..." The eye patch that he had worn for so long was gone. A faint, long scar was etched over his skin. "What happened?" Not thinking, she reached out to trace the wound.

Ulrich froze for a moment when she touched him, then relaxed slightly. "It...It got ripped to bits when I fell," he admitted, blushing a little. Yumi quickly took her hand away, blushing as well.

"Yumi, you almost got ripped to bits, you did," remarked a voice from her other side. His usually wry tone wobbled, and when Yumi looked over at him, Odd's purple eyes shimmered slightly with relief.

"Awww, you do care." Yumi tried for humor, and Odd made a face at her.

Ulrich ignored Odd, but didn't let go of Yumi's hands. "Are you sure you're alright, Yumi? You seemed to be having a nightmare."

A hint of panic spit back into her head, and she slid her hands from his.

"Yes. I'm...I am fine. Although..." Her eyes narrowed. "Ulrich, where any of the soldier's in your troop believers in a..a paradise?"

Ulrich stared at her. "Why?"

Yumi shook her head slowly, and looked at her hands. They were dirty, but not with blood. A shudder went down her spine. "Something strikes me as strange, something that man Xan...Xana?" She made a face and continued. "-Something that that man said. He was taunting you about your brothers in arms, wasn't he?"

Ulrich's eyes narrowed. "He did. He's a madman, Yumi, you shouldn't-"

"No, I think..." She bit her lip. "Perhaps it's nothing. But...where any of the other soldier's believers?"

Ulrich hesitated, then shrugged. "Yes, I...I guess. It gave them hope, I think. Although some of the lorded it over the rest of us."

"Did William?"

A spark of anger flashed in Ulrich's eyes. "What would you want to-" He caught the determined glint in Yumi's eye, and the rant died on his lips. "I..." Trying to remember without anger, without thinking of how much Dunbar had lied to Yumi, he frowned. "He had a thing about us all being brothers," he said after a minute. "But that's nothing unusual. But he wasn't one wandering around with a cross around his neck or anything."

"No, that wouldn't be the symbol he used," Yumi murmured, and stood slowly. "Or, it would not be...but that's impossible, it makes no sense." She shook her head.

"Who the bloody hell are you two talking about?!" Odd sat cross legged on the floor, arms folded, glaring from one to the other.

Ulrich and Yumi looked at each other, Ulrich's expression confused, and angry and relived, Yumi's wary, then shook their heads together.

"Rather not talk about it," they muttered in unison.

"Lovely," Odd retorted, and pushed himself to his feet. "Since your nap's over, Yumi..." He rubbed his hands together. "Let's find a way outta here, shall we? Before..." He glanced down, at the strange symbolistic canal etched in the floor.

Before another sacrifice, they all thought, but none of the spoke it.

"You have an idea?" Ulrich raised an eyebrow at his friend.

"No, he doesn't," Yumi answered, ignoring Odd's glare. She was frowning again, her eyes searching the room. "But..."

Ulrich watched her closely. "Do you, Yumi?" She seemed so stable now, as if she had never been fighting or that she had never fainted. Her fists, stayed clenched in the skirts of her dress.

"There should be a weakness somewhere. That man escaped, and those monsters got in here through somewhere. All we must do is find the door, or the weakness." She frowned, running her hand over the stone. "The quicker we get out of here, the quicker we shall find Aelita and...and warn her."

"If she doesn't already know, being the honored guest and all," Odd muttered furiously, then looked up at Yumi hopefully. "Hey, maybe you could blow the wall open like you did the one time-" he started, but Yumi glared at him.

"I did NOT blow the wall open, that crack was already there."

Odd raised an eyebrow and grinned at her. "Bloody looked like it."

"Stop, children," Ulrich said wryly, and Odd snorted. Yumi didn't react, until suddenly, she let out a gasp. The two young men turned to look at her.

Ulrich blinked, once, then twice. "Odd...Do you see what..."

"Yumi...?" Odd was taking a step back away from her. "You're...you're..um...glowing."

She didn't even seem to hear them. Instead, she put her hand against the wall, muttering to herself. The faint green glow around her flickered, faded, then returned. Odd looked over at Ulrich, his eyes wide. Ulrich shrugged. Just when he was getting used to strange things going on, something else happened.

"I just know there's a weakness," Yumi said suddenly. "I...I can not explain how...it's in my mind. Like sensing those monsters from before. But...different." Suddenly, she pulled her hand back from the wall-

And a large chuck of that wall came with it.

"Yumi!?"

Slack jawed, the two boys stared as Yumi backed away quickly, staring from the hole in the wall to the now medium chuck of rock floating in the air next to her hand, also surrounded by that faint green light.

"All I wanted to do was to move it a bit! I just thought about trying to pull it out and...and..." Yumi let out a muffled shriek and jumped further away, shaking her hands. Both she and the rock lost the glow, and the rock fell to the ground with a crash. Desperation and fear on her face, she turned to look at the others.

"Well, Yumi," Odd said, shock still in his eyes. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and grinned. "This IS going to be an interesting escape after all!"


	28. Chapter 28

It was like walking through a nightmare.

The dark hallways slowly lead them deeper and deeper into the factory, the walls getting narrower and narrower. A incessant ticking sound came and went, buzzing in Aelita's ears until she had to start muttering to herself to block it out. Her head was very hot, her feet freezing, and the hand still holding onto Jeremie's was going numb.

I will go mad, Aelita thought, trying to calm her wild heartbeat. Alone in this place. I will go mad here I will-

"Miss Aelita?"

The hand holding hers squeezed gently, and Aelita's fearful thoughts faded. She looked over, and up into his face. He was ghostly pale, his eyes wide behind his dirty glasses. Not alone. She wasn't alone. Aelita took a deep breath and tried to smile. It was wobbly and barely there, but it was an attempt all the same.

"I promise you, Jeremie...I..I"m usually not known to have bouts of cluster-phobic panic," she informed him softly. The lump in her throat didn't ease at her failed attempt at lightness, but Jeremie's returning smile did ease it some.

"You are much too brave-hearted for that, Aelita," he replied after a moment, nodding. "I would have turned back long ago in panic if you were not here with me." He turned pink as he said it, and Aelita's smile came easier.

"I can't imaging you turning back into a panic anywhere, sir." Jeremie grinned.

"If Oddric took off his shoes, I would." Aelita giggled, and the happy sound bounced off the walls.

Something clicked off in the distance, and both of them froze.

Foolish. Such a foolish thing. But even the honored sacrifice must be foolish.

"What?"

Jeremie looked over at Aelita. "Did you hear-" Aelita put a finger to her lips and he fell silent. Moment's passed, and then Aelita relaxed. Slightly.

Perhaps she was going mad, she thought again, worry coming back up like bile. In this place, this labyrinth, with voices hissing in her ears that no one else seemed to hear.

"What was that?!"

Jeremie jerked sharply, pulling Aelita out of her thoughts.

"What was what?"

"I...I thought I heard a...There! Listen!" Jeremie closed his eyes. Aelita stared at him, straining her ears, but heard nothing. "This way!" Suddenly, Jeremie renewed his grip on Aelita's hand and hurried forward, pulling her along with him. Perplexed, her fear died down somewhat.

"Jeremie, what on earth-"

"A huge thud, above us. But...then I heard...I swear I heard...I heard the others!"

Hope and despair lit in unison in her chest. "You mean Yumi and Odd and Ulrich?! They're alive?! But they should be gone, they could be killed! And-" Aelita fell silent after a moment, listening for what ever Jeremie could hear.

"Perhaps we're both going mad," she muttered after a moment. "We're both hearing voices."

"You heard their voices too?!" Jeremie looked over at her, and Aelita winced. She hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"Ah...not...not theirs...I don't think." No, that wasn't them. That mocking tone that threatened in riddles that made little sense. That wasn't her friends. She had to get away from that voice, yet it grew closer with every step she took. A shudder went down her spine and she pushed the threats and the riddles out of her head. "Do...do you still hear them?" Jeremie had slowed down, and was frowning.

"It makes no sense," he said after a moment. "Where are they going? They're not above us anymore."

No, not anymore. Chased to hiding, like animals. But the hunters and wolves are coming, chasing their prey in circles.

Aelita froze, the threatening voice in her mind hissing coldly. Despite the fear, the words made her eyes narrow in confusion.

"In circles..."

"Pardon?" Jeremie, realizing she had stopped, paused to look back at her. The small amount of color that had come back into her face a few minutes ago had vanished. Paler than a ghost, and shimmering softly, as if lit within. Jeremie's breath caught in his lungs at the sight.

"We've been moving in circles. Somehow the lower levels, the further we go down, the more circular it gets. That's why there's been so few stairs. It's a spiral." Like the middle of the timepiece, she realize, her eyes widening. "They've built the lower levels in the shape of the Virtual Timepiece!" She gasped aloud, her hands going to the Timepiece itself, tucked in the front of her gown.

"Correction, my dear. My brothers and I have moved these stones, these levels, all in the paradise."

Aelita and Jeremie spun around.

Jeremie's eyes narrowed in a furious glare at the man before them. "Professor Hann-"

"You?!"

Aelita was staring, her head jerking back slightly as if someone had slapped her face. "I know you! The one they called Xana. My father-"

The man swept her a bow, his long grey doctor's coat dusting the dirty floor. "He spoke of me to you? The thief was once a good worker, so there is honor in that, dear honored sacrifice." He smiled slowly at Aelita's furious shock. "It seems you keep interesting company as of late, Miss Shaffer."

Jeremie blinked. "Shaffer?" Glancing from one to the other, his mind spun. Hannibal continued, sneering as he took a step forward.

"A useless student, an annoying womanizer, a worthless solider, and a foreign oddity. Do you know that you've lead them to their death?"

"You bastard!" Aelita was shaking now, her green eyes blazing. "You dare to insult them when you, YOU have murdered hundreds?! You don't belong in paradise, you belong in the deepest pits of hell!" There were tears in her eyes, in her voice. "But this...this is for my father!" She reached a hand up, putting it over her heart. Pink sparks suddenly kicked up, shivered, shimmered there.

"Aelita! Aelita, no!" Jeremie tried to grab her, to stop her, but it was too late. With a sobbing cry, Aelita let out a blast of dark pink lightening flashing at their enemy.

A huge blast echoed down the narrow chamber, and Aelita fell backward against Jeremie from the force of her attack. As the echos started to fade, another sound began to rise, one that made the hair on the back of Jeremie's head stand up.

Laughter.

Xander Hannibal was laughing softly as he straightened. Shaking his head, he staggered back slightly then raised his head.

"But...but that's impossible..." Aelita gasped, staring at her hands. "You...you should be..."

"Dead? Turned to ashes?" The man his henchmen called "Doctor" threw his head back and laughed again. "You really are a fool, girl, to think you could best me with just that. And not only that, I know that you have what I have been searching for, for so long." He strode forward, reaching a hand out towards her.

Jeremie grabbed Aelita and pushed her behind him, then put his own fists up. "Touch her and die, you monster," he hissed, his anger and fear making him far more confident than he usually would have been in his own fighting skills.

"Monster? Hardly, boy." Doctor Hannibal's lip curled. "Move aside. Am I not the one who taught you the tale of the Timepiece?!" He grabbed Jeremie by the front of his shirt. "If you had not met me, idiot, you would be nothing. Now move aside!"

Barely able to breathe, Jeremie spit into the man's face. "I w-would be nothing if it weren't for the people you're trying to destroy! You had no-nothing to do with it!"

Hannibal sneered, tightening his grip on Jeremie's throat. "You are still nothing, boy. You could have had paradise. Now. Move aside!"

"Never!"

Hannibal growled and shoved Jeremie aside, letting the young man's hand slam against the wall.

"Jeremie!" Aelita dived towards him, but Hannibal grabbed her arm, jerking her back.

"Now, my dear, where do you think you're going? We have business to attend to." Horrified, Aelita struggled against the unnaturally stronger arms that held her like steel bars.

"No! No! Let me go, you-"

"Silence!" Hissing, Hannibal backhanded her hard across the face, making her fall next to Jeremie. Sighing, Hannibal turned back the way he had came. "Soldiers! Come!"

Heavy footfalls echoed, and a small group of men in dark uniforms came forward. Their posture perfect, they moved in unison. When they came to a halt, a soft steady clicking whirling noise echoed where there should have been breathing. It made it sound like an army of clocks had come to rest there.

"Take these sacrifices to the study," Hannibal ordered softly, straightening his coat. "Then find those others the male spoke of. They must be close, if their-" he motioned towards Jeremie and Aelita, "weak ears can hear them. Send..." he smiled slowly. "I believe some of the older recruits will have a better time getting the foreigner and her solider. Send them. The animistic one should be easy to catch." He flipped a hand. "Go."

Without speaking, the soldiers' bowed. One picked up Jeremie, another grabbed Aelita, then turned to joined their fellows as if the weight of the two humans was nothing. Then, in unison, the solder's turned and walked awake, the clock-like ticking sounds they made covered by their thundering footfalls.

1010110101010101010

They were lost.

Sweat beading down the back of her neck, Yumi pressed a hand to her forehead. They were lost. Again.

"Are you sure you heard Aelita?" She turned to look at Odd, who was bouncing on the balls of his feet. Where he kept getting his energy from, she would have loved to know. Or...thinking of his habits and hygiene, she made a face. Perhaps not.

Odd nodded sharply, glancing behind them as they went. "Yes, yes, of course! Let's go!"

They spoke in whispers, yet the sound seem to bounce off the walls in a deafening din. Or perhaps it was just her headache that was making it seem so loud. It had only gotten worse since the strange incident with the rocks in the other room. She hadn't meant to move the stone, she kept telling herself over again. It was impossible. She had just thought about making it shift some how, and it had done so, on it's own! Now Ulrich and Odd kept shooting each other strange looks every time she touched something. It was grating on her nerves.

"How can you blasted hear them, anyway?!" She snapped after a minute, the pain and confusion making her curse. "Oddric, are you sure you-"

"Shhhh!"

Yumi glared at him when Odd put a hand up, his purple eyes narrowing. Watching him, Yumi's own eyes narrowed after a moment. Why did his eyes look so strange all of a sudden? She glanced back at Ulrich, who had been hanging back slightly. Their gazes met, and Yumi motioned at him to come closer. Ignoring the spark of warmth that went down her spine when he came to stand next to her, she jerked her head towards Odd.

"Do not his eyes look...unusual?"

Ulrich raised an eyebrow. "Yumi, they're already strange enough, being they're-" he blinked. "No, wait..."

Yumi nodded, some how relieved that at least she wasn't imagining it. "He has a cat's eyes. Oddric!"

Snapped out of what ever trance he was in, Odd glared at them both. "When you two are bloody done staring at me, we can-"

"You look like a cat."

Odd blinked. "Pardon?"

Ulrich shook his head at Odd's expression. "This is mad. Yumi can move things with her mind, and now you look like you're about to grow a bloody tale and can hear through solid stone!" He threw his hands in the air. "What next?! Aelita turns into a bloody angel and saves us all?!"

"Says the bloke who moves fives times the speed of a normal human," Odd retorted, and grinned when Ulrich glared and shrugged. "You can't tell me you could do that in uniform in Japan." He winked at Yumi. "Or could he?"

Yumi turned red and looked away while Ulrich swore at Odd. Odd sniggered, and kept walking.

Her headache vanished as suddenly as it came on, and Yumi's head jerked up. "Stop."

Ulrich and Odd turned to look at her. "Come again?"

"We need to back off. Turn around." There was pressure at the front of her mind now, making it hard for her to think straight. Somehow, she heard it clearly: the ominous sound of marching feet.

"How can you hear somethin' I don't?" Odd asked incredulously, folding his arms. "Cat-man am I, remember?" Yumi ignored him.

"We need to get away from this place." She glanced back, saw a hallway to the left, and quickly slide towards it. Ulrich followed her, glancing around.

"What do you hear?" He whispered, standing a little in front of her. His voice was so soft that Yumi could barely hear him.

Yumi shook her head slowly. "Nothing. It's...it is a feeling. A pressure, I suppose." Odd raised an eyebrow, but went to join the other two in their hiding place.

Only moment's later, loud thuds began to reach their ears. Odd let out a whisper curse as the sound of marching feet echoed down the hallway.

An army? Confused, Yumi shrunk back a little more. Ulrich was behind her, one hand rest on her arm. Was he comforting her or himself, she wondered foggily, the warmth of his hand suddenly the only heat in the area. The air felt like it had turned to ice.

A dozen or so dark figures strode past, their footsteps sounding like a metallic heartbeat against the stone floor. A soft clicking sound accompanied them, as if they were all wearing pocket watches. A shudder went down Yumi's spine, and the pressure grew worse. There was something wrong with the way their shoulder's hunched, she realized, after a second, narrowing her gaze. Straight as their posture was, three small lumps in different sizes pushed out from their backs. For a split second, Yumi could have sworn that the largest lump moved.

Behind her, a soft retching sound was heard. Breathless with fear and curiosity as she stared at the soldier's going by, Yumi barely heard it. Although she did hear the moan of pain that came from a bundle carried by one of the soldiers'.

"Aeli-" Odd let out a gasp, but Ulrich grabbed him and pulled the blond boy back from diving out towards the soldiers. Yumi felt her own stomach lurch as she saw what the bundles actually were.

Aelita and Jeremie, out cold and bleeding.

The second the last solider was out of sight, Odd tore away from Ulrich and leapt back into the hallway.

"We've got to follow them!" His eyes were wild and furious, his face pale. "Did you see what they were carrying?!"

Ulrich stepped out with him, watching as the soldier's turned another corner. HIs dark eyes had gone very cold. "What ever they were, they weren't normal," he muttered, then shook his head. "I don't know why, but there's something wrong with them."

"It doesn't matter." Yumi reached out and put a hand on Odd's shoulder. "We will follow them, but we have to be careful. This could be a trap."

"Does it bloody matter?!" Odd started after the soldier's.

"We could end up like them, and then we'd be helping no one, Oddric!" Yumi snapped, hurrying after him. "All you've done since all hell broke loose was bouncing and running! Aelita and Jeremie will be killed, sacrificed in that horrific room." The idea made her throat close up, and Yumi turned away. There was no time for tears now. No time for...

The pressure in her mind hit her so suddenly, she staggered back. Gasping, she pressed a hand to her head, shivering as a cold chill swept over her.

"You lot look lost."

As one, all three of them whirled. A single man, his colorless dark coat pulled up past his jaw line, and a dirty bowler hat pulled low over his brow, stood before them. Odd snarled.

"I recognize you," he snapped. "You're one of the bloody Warden's men!"

"Was," replied the man, and Odd's face went slack. The voice was wrong, he realized, taking a step back. Cold and empty. Inhuman. "The Doctor ordered me to win over that idiot, along with your...studious mate back there." He nodded in the direction that the soldier's went.

Yumi's eyes went wide. "You're the one who attacked Jeremie in the streets?!"

"Attacked?!" The man waved a black gloved hand. "The bloody git was running from us, all we wanted to do was help."

"Help?! Who are you?" Ulrich moved forward slowly.

"You should know, I was going to be your commanding' officer in the silence squad, boy."

"Silence squad?!" Horror slide over Ulrich like a wave. "Is that what they were calling the program they tried to hire me for? The ones who were sent to silence the riots about the missing people?"

Odd and Yumi stared at each.

"If you had stayed, you would've been able to help the Doctor himself capture the lovely honored sacrifice of ours. Same day, actually." The head shifted slightly, towards Odd. "Same day you got out by your teeth from the Warden, boy."

Yumi's face went pale. "The day Aelita's flat was broken into by those men?!" Her eyes flashed. "You ba-"

"Save your fury, foreigner. Naw, I don't need it. That bloody honored sacrifice and your mate there...They thought they could trick me, leave me to be a fool. We have some...unfinished business, me n' those two."

"So do we," Ulrich snapped. "Who are you?!"

A chuckle, if it could be called that, came from the man. "Well, if you're just a-dyin' to know, boy..." The man peeled the bowler hat off. "The name's Gray. Mr. Gray."

Odd barely stopped himself from retching.

There was a single metal circle where Gray's left eye used to be, and with the hat off, they could clearly see a small metal gear protruding from the back of his neck, clicking steadily.

"You...you..."

"The Doctor gave me mercy, despite the fact that those nasty mates of yours tricked me. Stupid gits, but we'll settle score. And I...I'll find my paradise!"

This was mercy?! Bile rose in Yum's throat as she stared at the creature that had once been a man.

"It's like...they've turned him into one of those monsters that chased earlier," Odd muttered, too stunned and disgusted to move.

"Monsters?" What was left of Gray's natural human skin wrinkled in either a laugh or grimace, it was hard to tell which. "Ah. The Doctor's creations. Ain't they sight for you?" Gray laughed- a horrible sound, half metallic, half deranged human- and raised his arms. "Ah, yes, and that reminds me." His laughter stopped suddenly, and his one human fixed again on Ulrich.

"It's too bad that you didn't stay in the squad, boy. You would have met up with some older comrades of you."

Ulrich stared. "What?!"

Gray nodded, and looked behind him. "The Doctor thought you'd feel more welcome with them, of course. They're not quite as...perfect as the Doctor's model for me, but ah, well..." He shrugged. "Mercy comes in many forms, I bet."

"Get to the point, Gray," Odd snapped, the stupor of fear fading from him. His eyes were intense now, the pupils slitted so small they were barely visible. "What have you done with Aelita and Jeremie?"

"You're the cousin?" Gray snorted. "Thought so, you don't bloody shut either. You don't worry your head about that, boy. She and her friend be taken care of-"

"Where the bloody hell are they?!" Odd bellowed, and leapt at the man.

Hard hands grabbed Odd's shoulders and shoved him back, just as Yumi let out a shriek. Odd stumbled back, cursing. "What the-" He looked at his attacker, and fell back another step. "W-what..."

Yumi made a strangled sound of horror from behind him, and Odd glanced back to see her and Ulrich standing together, both as pale as ghosts.

"Th...that's impossible..." Ulrich spoke first, his voice barely above a whisper. His eyes were widened in shock, in disbelief. "No...that...I saw him die in Japan!"

Obviously enjoying the reactions of his prey, Mr. Gray swung his arms open wide again. "So you do know him! I wondered. The Doctor, he's always right, he is!"

"Yumi? Ulrich?" Nonplussed, Odd stared from them to the solider now standing by Mr. Gray. "What is going on?!"

The soldier's dead eyes showed no flicker of emotion, recognition. Nothing.

Barely audible, Yumi's voice spoke the answer to Odd's question, staring at the man who she once knew, who once betrayed her.

"William. That's William Dunbar."


End file.
